I Bet You My Heart
by Kristen36
Summary: Mercedes believes Puck has a crush on Kurt, and makes a bet with him. Kurt Hummel is on a mission to make Puck his boyfriend, no matter what the cost. But as time passes, will the cost become too high for Kurt?
1. Chapter 1

Kurt Hummel woke up at precisely 6am sharp to get ready for his big day. He spent an even a longer amount of time picking out his outfit than usual (a tight pair of designer skinny jeans that showed off his ass nicely, a red long-sleeved silk shirt, and a white Alexander McQueen scarf to top it off). He meticulously combed and sprayed his hair into place, deciding to go for a more "wild" look as Mercedes would call it. His hair was brushed out a bit more, allowing his bangs to fall over his forehead and his hair to cover his ears. He decided the new hairstyle made him look less feminine, which would allow him to look more like one of the "guys" (Okay yeah, he seriously doubted he'd pull off the macho-manly act that Puck and the other jocks could do, but the little things mattered most ,right?). Grabbing a few pieces of toast after heading downstairs, he said goodbye to his dad as he walked out the door. With a huge sigh, Kurt climbed into his Navigator, pondering the events soon to come.

It had all started with a bet from Mercedes. She had convinced herself that Noah Puckerman had the hotts for Kurt. She claimed the evidence was right in front of him. As he stopped at a stoplight, Kurt thought about the conversation they had yesterday.

* * *

They had been sitting at the food court at the mall, quietly eating their frozen yogurt. He'd notice that Mercedes kept sneaking looks at him, biting her lip as if she was trying to hold back something she wanted to say.

"Spill it girl. I can tell you have some juicy gossip," Kurt had started.

"Well, it's not exactly gossip. More of just a theory," Mercedes replied. Looking at the tables around them, she took her time trying to formulate her next sentence. Kurt sat on the edge of his seat, a smile playing on his lips. He could tell this was BIG. Maybe their darling Tina had finally decided she was going to move on from Artie, and pursue the sexy "other Asian" Mike Chang? Or perhaps Jesse was going to go back to Vocal Adrenaline? The anticipation was killing him.

"Just come out and say it dear, you know I won't tell."

"I think Puck likes you."

Everything he had been thinking was quickly brushed from his mind. He dropped his spoon and stared open mouthed at her. He had SO not been expecting this.

"Are you serious 'Cedes? You know how impossible that is right?" Kurt continued to stare at his friend when she didn't reply and quickly realized she was dead serious. Not knowing what to do, he did the first thing he could think of; laugh.

"White boy, don't you dare laugh at me. Now hear me out." Mercedes pushed in her chair and leaned closer towards the still laughing Kurt.

"First, he suddenly sits next to you in Glee without warning and stares at you as soon as you open your mouth to talk. He takes his truck to your dad's shop AFTER you mention in Glee you'll be working there that day and DESPITE the fact that there was nothing wrong with it. He hasn't thrown you in the dumpster since he's joined Glee, hasn't thrown a slushie at you, and has even punched Karofsky after calling you a fag."

Kurt rolled his eyes at his friend's explanation. Clearly she had taken something that had gone to her head. Maybe had given her some extra Vitamin D before she was fired? He was pretty sure he read somewhere that too much Vitamin D could cause brain damage.

"Those are all easily explainable, dear. He sits by US," he made sure to emphasize the fact that Puck was sitting with their group, and had not in fact singled him out, "because why would he want to be around Quinn, Finn, or Rachel? They all have too much drama, and I am pretty sure none of them want much to do with him after the Babygate scandal. And he doesn't stare; he just looks at me when I talk because I have interesting things to say." Kurt looked up from the beginning of his speech to see how Mercedes was reacting. She just raised her eyebrow, insinuating he continue his reasoning.

"And he took his truck to my dad's shop because he needed the air checked in his tires-"

"Yeah but he could have just taken it to the local gas station to get the air checked for free," Mercedes had immediately cut in.

Kurt scowled at her interruption, but continued on with his explanation. "My dad's shop is the best at handling tires in all of Lima. Plus, if your car was a piece of shit, wouldn't you want only the most professional people available to handle it? I mean, come on sweetie, his truck doesn't look like it's going to survive much longer."

She smiled at his answer. The Glee club had a running bet of how much longer Puck's ancient Ford truck would last. He, of course, knew nothing of this bet, because no one made fun of Puck's ride without incurring some bodily damage. That truck was his baby, a sentiment in which Kurt understood completely. He thought he was going to have a heart attack the day Mercedes had thrown a rock through his windshield.

"And plus, he hasn't thrown a slushie at anyone since he joined Glee, especially after receiving one himself when he dated Rachel. "

Mercedes took her turn to roll her eyes at her friend this time. He was just determined not to admit the truth.

"He still defended your honor babe. And don't try to deny that fact."

Kurt finished the last remains of his yogurt, not knowing how to reply. He remembered that day clearly.

* * *

He had left lunch early to stop by his locker before his next class. Suddenly, his locker had been slammed shut, startling him, but thankfully missing his fingers. When Kurt looked up, Karofsky and a few of the hockey players were laughing as they continued walking down the hall. Just as they were about to turn the corner, Karofsky turned and yelled towards him, "No one wants you here, fag." Kurt looked down at the book in his hands, trying to keep his expression unchanged. He was used to the word, but it still hurt. He was certainly not prepared for what happened next. Hearing something heavy hit the floor and a loud "What the fuck is your problem man!" Kurt looked up to see Puck standing over Karofsky, whose hand was covering a bloody nose. With one final kick to Karofsky's stomach, Puck strode down the hallway and passed Kurt without saying a word.

* * *

"Maybe he has a gay relative?" Kurt finally replied.

"P-lease boy, you seriously believe that?" At Kurt's nod, she heaved a sigh. "Whatever, white boy, I think you're just scared."

"At what exactly?" he bit back.

"You know he won't make the first move. With a girl, yeah he's Puckzilla, but not for a boy. You're scared that you won't be able to convince him to get with you."

Mercedes laughed inwardly as Kurt's indignant expression. She knew just exactly how to push his buttons. Kurt never liked someone who told him he couldn't do something. He would do EVERYTHING to prove them wrong.

* * *

Kurt eased onto the gas pedal as the light turned green. He knew he would never pass on a competition, an outright challenge, (that one time at the Diva-off with Rachel didn't really count), so he took the bet. They wrote down a list of rules after returning home from the mall. They weren't allowed to tell anyone of the bet, "so as not to compromise the integrity of the competition" Mercedes had said. He had until March to make Puck his official boyfriend AND to admit to the school he was dating Kurt. When Kurt asked why Mercedes had chosen March as the deadline, she had shrugged, saying that March was her favorite month.

The rules were simple, yet challenging. It was currently November, so Kurt knew he had plenty of time. He prayed to all that was Gucci, Prada, and Alexander McQueen that he could pull this bet off. The final rule made him cringe. If he lost, Mercedes would get to dress him in any outfit she chose for the rest of the school year. Sure, the girl was extremely fashionable, but her tastes were FAR from anything Kurt would ever wear. He knew for a fact he couldn't pull off the "gangster/ghetto fly" look she promised him for losing. If he won, however, he would get to do a full makeover on his best friend, including getting to pick out her outfits for the rest of the year. With this final thought, his mood uplifted greatly as he pulled into the school parking lot. Kurt would start with befriending Puck first, but the final goal paraded in the back of his mind, making him slightly nervous.

He was going to seduce Noah Puckerman, even if it was the last thing he did.


	2. Chapter 2

_Walk walk fashion baby  
Work it  
Move that bitch crazy_

Kurt strode through the doors of McKinley High with his mission in mind. He was determined to get to work right away; after all, there's no time like the present as Rachel would always advise.

To be honest, he wasn't really sure how he was going to approach the task. Last night, Kurt had tried to think of "seduction ideas" as he was now referring to the bet as, but every time a potential excellent thought came to him, he lost it as he focused on the image of Puck. He would deny it until he was blue in the face, and he was damn sure he'd take his secret to the grave, but he had the hotts for the left tackle ever since his infamous performance of "Sweet Caroline" to Rachel. Like seriously, who doesn't dream about being serenaded in front of a group of people? Kurt knew, however, that he wasn't as easy to please as the shorter girl. He would prefer his man to show his to devotion to him in front of a huge group of people, preferably the entire school or during the intermission of Wicked on Broadway (before everyone left their seats of course). There was nothing wrong with fantasies, after all they were a "normal aspect of growing up", as Ms. Pillsbury had awkwardly informed them in their freshman year health and sex seminar. Kurt shuddered at the memory. To this day, he still was unsure of who felt more awkward during that assembly; the guidance counselor or the fifteen year old teenage boys she was addressing.

Kurt pushed the memory out of his mind and focused on the task at hand. No one could deny Puck had the body structure of a God. Zeus had nothing on the football player. He made Brad Pitt look ugly in Troy…well okay, Kurt realized that may have been an exaggeration, but hey, he wasn't called a Drama Queen just because he dressed fabulously. Sure, Puck's personality didn't compare to Finn Hudson's on the outside, but Kurt sensed there was something deeper in the Jewish boy. After hiding his sexuality for years, Kurt was pretty sure he was an expert on hiding one's true self.

The tardy bell blared loudly through the halls, startling Kurt out of his thoughts. He quickly made his way to his first period class, Spanish, which he luckily happened to share with the jock. Normally, Puck sat in the back, with Kurt diligently taking a seat in the first row. Spanish was an important language he may need to use in his fashion career, so Kurt took extra care to learn as much as he could from . Plus, one of his dreams included attending the elite fashion shows in Madrid. It couldn't help to actually be able to communicate with people while he was there.

Kurt noticed Puck hadn't arrived yet. He decided to take a risk, and passed his usual seat in front of 's desk, heading to a seat in the back row. While he was placing his materials on his desk, Puck walked in the door just as the final bell rang.

* * *

Noah Puckerman walked into Spanish with his backpack hoisted over his shoulder and a homemade blueberry muffin in his hand. He would be the first to admit, having Quinn Fabray living in his house was a blessing in disguise. His mom made good dinners for him and his younger sister, Sarah, but Quinn was a baking beast. Her cupcakes, (although legal, and thus not as good as his "special" ones), were legendary at the social dinners her parents hosted before they kicked her out. Apparently baking helped her de-stress and manage her raging preggo hormones, which was fine by him. He enjoyed having a fresh breakfast to look forward to. Cookie Crisp got kind of old after eating it for the past seven years.

As he passed Mr. Schue on the way to his seat, the older man gave him a look he couldn't identify. It definitely looked like confusion in part, and perhaps a mixture of scorn? Puck thought back to the past few days to think of what he could have done wrong. He'd been performing well in Glee, hadn't given any geeks a dumpster dive, and had only given Jacob Israel a slushie facial, and that was just because he creeped him out. But seriously, Schuester couldn't hate on him for that. That kid was a freak and needed even more mental treatment than Rachel Berry and combined.

He briefly noted that Kurt wasn't in class today, as his seat remained empty. Puck but his head down, and continued his trek through the maze of seats. Schuester clearly needed some organization skills from Ms. Pills.

Puck sat down in his seat, and looked around the classroom. It wasn't until then that he noticed that Kurt Hummel was sitting in the only seat in the room that was usually empty...and right next to him. He could tell why Schuester was confused, as it mirrored Puck's own feelings.

Turning to look Kurt directly in the eye, Puck raised his eyebrow in a "what the fuck are you doing" kind of way. The younger boy just gave him a small smile, and turned his attention to Schuester's lecture. Puck tried to ignore the fluttering in his stomach.

Maybe today would be better than he thought.

* * *

Author's note: Woo ch 2 down! (It's been edited to fix some mistakes) Thank you to all who decided to review about whether or not I should add multiple POV's. It's definitely a lot easier to write that way, but it will most likely focus on Kurt more so than anyone else. Maybe. We shall see what comes! And a special thank you to Alice Itoko who has given me a new idea to work with :)

Song = Lady gaga " Bad Romance" of course


	3. Chapter 3

Alright, so Puck hadn't told him off for sitting next to him. To Kurt, this seemed like a good start. Turning his attention back to , Kurt began his daily routine of taking notes. A sudden tap on his right arm broke him out of his concentration. Kurt looked up, startled, into the blue eyes of Puck.

"Can I borrow a pen?" Puck asked him. "Please."

To say Kurt was shocked would have been an understatement. He's never heard Puck say "please." Ever.

"Uh sure, hold on"

Kurt dug through his Louis Vuitton backpack and pulled out his extra zebra print pen. As he handed it to the older boy, their fingers brushed, passing an electric shock through the two. Both boys pulled their hands back quickly, while Puck muttered a quick "Thanks."

Kurt didn't know what to make of their interaction. Puck wasn't usually the friendliest of people, and Kurt wasn't sure until now that the jock had even known the words "please" and "thanks". He decided not to dwell on it and just took it as a sign that he was more likely to win the bet than Mercedes thought. His first plan for friendship seemed to be going in the right direction. Maybe praying to the fashion gods was working after all. Perhaps a sacrifice was necessary for the continuation of good fortune? Kurt decided he would go to the mall after school and buy the ugliest outfit he could find, and then go home and burn it so no unfortunate soul would be forced to set eyes upon such hideousness. That seemed like the perfect plan.

* * *

Noah Puckerman knew he was a Saint among the population of women. All types of girls swooned over him, from little girls his sister's age to the soccer mom cougars. He loved all the attention. What guy wouldn't appreciate such an ego boost? Puck could get any girl he wanted. But of course, as such things go, he didn't want a girl. Instead, the jock wanted a boy. Now, let's all be real here for a second. He wasn't some gay kid who lusted after every attractive boy he laid eyes on. Nope. Just one boy. Kurt Hummel. He had slowly developed feelings for Kurt since the day he saw him striding into school their freshman year. Puck had been instantly fascinated by him and the way he just held his head high, acting like he was the greatest thing to ever walk the halls of McKinley High.

Puck knew he'd never been nice to the younger boy. He had constantly thrown him into dumpsters, tossed slushies in his face, and called him derogatory words like "fag" and "fairy". His mother often called him a "simply complex person", and he figured the phrase could be used to describe how he felt and acted towards Kurt. On one hand, Puck was jealous of how Kurt could be so open about his sexuality and who he is. He wasn't afraid of what people say and was not only was damn proud of who he was, but certainly wasn't scared to show it off… well more like flaunt it. If Puck, a jock and overall popular dude came out and said he was gay, the entire school would flip shit. His popularity would be lower than the chess club and he would be beaten up by every guy in the school. Puck was a stud and one of the strongest guys in Lima, but he didn't think he could take on the entire football, basketball, baseball, and hockey team at once.

But on the other hand, Puck used any interaction to get closer to the boy. In a weird way, he relished each time he picked Kurt up to toss him into the dumpster. The first time one of the older football players had suggested it, his heart had skipped a beat. It was the first time he'd ever wrap his arms around the small boy and probably the only way he ever would. His mother had told his sister once when a boy was picking on her, it was most likely because he had a crush on her. His mom reasoned that boys did this so they could talk to you and this was the only way they would because they were too scared and unsure of themselves to talk to you normally. Puck decided this was how he was towards Kurt. And no, he was not proud that he had the social skills of a third grader. Puck elected to work on this issue, but in his own way of course.

His first way to get closer to Kurt was to be physically closer to Kurt without teasing or bullying him. Puck began sitting next to the former kicker in Glee. He figured this would look less obvious in Glee as opposed to Spanish, English, or American History (the three classes he shared with Kurt). Sitting next to him in Glee, Puck reasoned, would allow Kurt to get used to his presence. And he was pretty sure it was working. After a few days, the anxious sideways glances shot towards Puck had passed, and it looked like he had gotten used to Puck sitting there. Puck had even gone so far as to get his tires checked at the shop Kurt's dad owned. Kurt hadn't said anything to him while his dad filled his tires with air, but at least Puck got to see him out of his usual fancy attire. He had to admit, the casual messy t-shirt and jeans look was hott on Kurt, even though they were probably still designer brands. Puck added a check to his mental list of "befriending Hummel."

Puck's next task was his personal favorite; defend Kurt's honor. Standing up for someone was what friends did, right? His first chance came almost as soon as he had made the goal. As he was heading towards lunch to grab a quick meal (he'd spent most of his lunch time restringing his guitar with Artie) he heard Karofsky call Kurt a fag. As he rounded the corner, Karofsky turned to face him right as Puck's fist connected with his face. He smiled at the satisfying crunch of the hockey player's nose breaking. The guy had yelled something Puck didn't hear. He was too busy wondering what Kurt was thinking, or even if he had seen the incident. Quickly glancing up, Puck saw Kurt looking at them, his expression unclear. He decided to give Karofsky one final quick in the stomach, and continued his way to lunch. He desperately wanted to look up to see Kurt's reaction, but he wasn't sure if he could handle any sort of looks of disgust or horror. Kurt didn't seem to be the sort who liked violence, but perhaps he'd take it as a compliment? Puck added another check to his mental list anyways.

* * *

As he sat in Spanish class, Puck tried to think of a way of starting a conversation with the boy. If his mom had been here, she would have encouraged and applauded him for using this "normal" method of social interaction (yes he may be popular because he played sports and was drop dead gorgeous, but even popular kids had issues making friends too, kay thanks. Just ask if you don't believe him.) Reaching into his pocket for a pen, Puck had an idea. He gently tapped Kurt on the arm and waited for a reaction.

When he saw the pen Kurt was about to hand him, he had to smile to himself. It was exactly the type of obnoxious and colorful pen Puck thought the smaller boy would use. Their hands accidently brushed when Kurt handed the writing device to him, and the shock passing through his body was intense. He immediately felt the heat rising in his cheeks and turned away quickly so Kurt wouldn't notice. This had to prove there was some kind of connection between the two, right?

The class ended without anymore incidents. Puck had to leave school to take Quinn to her doctor's appointment. When it was over, they had just stayed at his house, deciding to take the rest of the day off so she could catch up on her sleep. They made it back to school in time for Glee, and Puck was happy they did.

Their next assignment was something he couldn't wait for.


	4. Chapter 4

(Mercedes note is in **bold**, Kurt is _italicized_)

* * *

Kurt didn't see Puck for the rest of the day. He heard Santana mentioning to Brittany that Quinn had a doctor's appointment, so he figured Puck had gone with her. He hoped they came to Glee, because he was ready to put more oomph into his plan. Mercedes was making him nervous that he'd fail, and Kurt Hummel didn't fail at anything…well except, being straight. But that was another matter all on its own.

_Flashback to 3rd period_

Kurt sat in his usual seat in the front, next to his bff Mercedes. They were supposed to be reading and writing a summary of chapter 4 of the novel, "Lords of the Flies" for the entire class period, but both of them completed the assignment in fifteen minutes. So they did what they usually do during class; pass notes.

**So where's Puck, white boy? Already scare him off?**

_Haha, no 'Cedes. I heard Santana tell Brittany that Quinn had a doctor's appointment, so he most likely went with her._

**You do know that you'll never win this bet right, Kurt? Even if he does like you, (which he sooo does, because let's face it, I'm always right), he's never going to agree to tell the whole school he's your boyfriend right?**

_Keep doubtin' me girl. Just makes me try harder. I have it in the bag, chica. I am going to become the King of Seduction and have Puck wrapped around my little manicured pinky. I'm already planning an array of outfits to dress you in. How do you feel about silk?_

He chuckled quietly to himself, as Mercedes rolled her eyes. Without replying, she crumbled up the note and tossed it into the empty trashcan next to their teacher's desk. The bell rang, and the two of them walked out the door with their arms linked together.

* * *

Brittany was a good girl. She hadn't stolen anything since she was eight years old. And, besides, putting a fish in your pocket to give it a better life shouldn't be considered a crime, just sayin. They deserve to have a free life too and not live as caged animals, like unicorns did. When she saw Kurt throw away his summary of the book chapter, she decided to take it out of the trashcan. She knew Kurt was really good at reading her mind (he always seemed to know what she was thinking!) so she figured she had just completed the assignment through his mind, and sent it to his teacher. He probably used the paper to sketch out his ideas, she reasoned.

Their teacher was hanging posters in the back on the room, and he had his back to her. She quickly reached into the trashcan, which was thankfully empty. Her mom told her amoebas hang out in dirty places like that, and she should be careful. Brittany didn't know what those were, but she figured it would probably cause her nails to fall off. And she didn't want that, because then would call her mean names. Brittany didn't like it when people were mean to her. Santana always told them to be nice to her, or else she'd hurt them. She was a good best friend.

Anywho…

Brittany was disappointed when she got to her locker and realized the paper wasn't his assignment. It looked like he tried to write in his diary, but got confused about who he was talking to. Brittany could understand that, she got confused a lot. Her diary, however, had pictures of rainbows wearing sombreros. Santana said they were very pretty, and she could become an artist one day. Her dream was to have her painting of a burrito eating bananas placed in the place where they hang art… she think it's called a mustang or something. Her painting was called Stan. That's also the name of the burrito.

"Hey Brit, what's that?" Santana asked, as she came up behind her.

"I think Kurt was trying to write in his diary, but he got confused," she replied, linking pinkies with her best friend and walking towards their next class. Brittany handed the paper to Santana. She was smart, and could figure out who Kurt thought he was trying to talk to. Maybe Santana could help Kurt become unconfused, too, just like she always does for Brittany.

Santana quickly read the paper, a smile coming to her face. Brittany liked when she smiled. It was pretty.

"Oh my GOD, Britt, this is genius! Do you have any idea what you just found?"

Brittany really liked when she made Santana smile. It made her feel good.

"Brittany, you did a really good job. Let me know if you find anything else again, kay?"

Brittany nodded, and smiled too. She liked making people happy, especially Santana.

* * *

Walking into Glee, Kurt took his usual seat at the bottom of the two rows. Soon afterwards, Puck and Quinn entered, with the boy quietly sitting next to him, and the blonde girl going to sit by Santana and Brittany in the top row. Kurt chatted with Mercedes about his trip to the mall after school, and invited her to go, but she wasn't able to come this time.

Kurt kept getting the weird feeling that someone was staring at him. He casually looked around the room, until he met the dark brown eyes of Santana Lopez. She smirked at him, and turned back to Brittany.

He didn't have time to wonder what her deal was, because Mr. Schue walked in right then. Everyone seemed to notice how happy he seemed, and looked around at each other, sharing nervous glances. A happy Mr. Scue usually meant they ended up doing a weird or challenging assignment. And once again, this time was the same as the others. Kurt prayed he didn't have to sing with Rachel. He didn't think he could handle a new version of a diva-off.

"Alright guys, I have a new assignment for you-"

They all groaned in unison. Mr. Schue smiled and put up his hands.

"I truly think you guys are going to have fun with this one."

They all sat up in their chairs a little higher, their curiosity peaking. Rachel, of course, was leaning forward in her chair excitedly. Kurt wondered vaguely if he could find April Rhodes and convince her to give Rachel one of her horse tranquilizer pills.

"As some of you have pointed out, Glee has lacked unison lately."

They all looked at Rachel, realizing this assignment was unlikely to be fun, especially if her nagging inspired it.

"I believe this is because none of you guys really know each other that well. Sure, you have people you know better than others, but it's like a clique in here. To win Regionals, we need to all understand AND respect each other. Knowing each other better will help avoid all this fighting we have going on."

Kurt didn't want to point out that "knowing each other well" had started a lot of this drama. After all, Puck got to know Quinn quite intimately, and now half the people in the club couldn't stand being with each other for too long.

"What's our punishment?" Tina asked.

"Think of it as an adventure, guys! Each of you will be assigned a partner. Your homework for this week is to spend the time getting to know each other, and singing a song that represents them."

This was going to be easy, Kurt thought. Apparently everyone else was sharing his sentiments too, because they all were smiling, relieved.

"I want something deep, guys. And I want a one page typed paper on why you chose the song and what you learned from the person you picked."

Everyone groaned, wondering what made Mr. Schue so adamant about this. Kurt wondered if Ms. Pills was mad at him again.

"Whichever group has the best paper and song performance will sing a duet at the PTA meeting next month," their teacher finished.

"Are you picking our partners?" Artie asked.

"I was going to, but I decided to leave it up to –"

No one said anything this time.

Mr. Schue sighed, "…the hat of fate. Now when I call your name, please come down and pick a name. I only put six names in here, so I'm going to call the six names of the people who aren't in the hat."

Kurt heard Brittany whisper to Santana, "I hope I'm not in the hat. It seems pretty cramped, and I have a small fear of bunnies."

Kurt couldn't help but smile. He absolutely loved Brittany, even after their awkward kissing experience. Although, he admittedly wondered how the girl made it to high school without failing a grade. He figured the administrators felt bad for her. He turned his attention back to .

Santana was with Finn, Brittany with Rachel, Mercedes with Matt, Artie with Mike, Quinn with Tina, which ultimately left Puck and Kurt together.

Kurt couldn't help but feel a little excited. He was definitely going to do the mall sacrificial today.

Maybe he'd even burn a whole wardrobe worth of fug.


	5. Chapter 5

Puck left Glee that day feeling like his life may be starting to turn around.

Quinn's appointment with the doctor had gone really well. The aged doctor had smiled at them, informing the two teens that little Bethany was growing at a normal rate. He'd even felt the baby kick for the first time! The two of them had been spending several evenings recently looking through adoptive parents to choose from. They were extremely critical about each one. The two agreed vehemently that their little girl would not fall into the hands of someone as psycho as Mrs. Schue.

Finn was finally starting to loosen up with him again. Last week in gym, Finn had picked Puck to be on his team for basketball. Finn and Karofsky were always captains when picking teams, and somehow Finn had convinced the brawny hockey player to pick Puck for his team after their falling out…and he always ended up as the last pick. How humiliating. At first Puck assumed Finn was just tired of losing when he picked him. Puck was not only a star on the football field, but he was a baller at basketball too and scored the most points on any team he played on. But then when Puck had "accidentally" smacked Karofsky in the face with the ball, his ex best friend had given him a dopey smile, and even went as far to pat him on the back. No words were shared between the two, but Puck took it as a sign that things were getting better.

And just yesterday, Finn had agreed to go with him to Carmel High and slash the tires of the obnoxious Vocal Adrenaline kids who had strewn an abundance of toilet paper across their choir room. Luckily, Rachel's mom (whose name he couldn't pronounce but remembers her as the scary, darker lady who looks like Rachel after five divorces), had decided they wouldn't be expelled. The catch? He and Finn had to pay for the damages…and four tires on twenty something Range Rovers added up to be a butt load of money. Fortunately, Mrs. Schue had hired Finn and him at Sheets N' Things. They didn't really talk much, but Puck thought the taller boy was starting to hate him less.

The mohawked teen seriously missed having his former best friend around all the time. The boy was so innocent and naive, yet always knew when Puck was upset and just how to cheer him up. Puck wasn't one who liked to discuss his feelings until he was ready, and Finn would just wait until he was ready to talk. But he would stay with Puck, whether he was punching and kicking anything he could find or bawling his eyes out (which really didn't happen often, okay. He wasn't soft just because he was gay.)

His "bad" side also wanted Finn to be friends with him again so they could hang out outside of school. Puck heard from various conversations in Glee that Kurt's dad and Finn's mom were dating. He nearly beat the shit out of Finn when he heard that the two had moved into the same house AND shared a bedroom together!

Seriously, Puck would be the first to admit he sometimes got jealous of Finn. The taller boy always got the better end of the stick, so to speak. He'd been the star quarterback, most popular kid in school, loved by everyone, and had Quinn (who had become like a sister to Puck through the baby drama, and yes he understood that sounded weird, but he had no other term to describe it). Puck was an excellent athlete too, but he'd always lived in Finn's shadow. He was the douchey bad boy, while Finn remained the loveable, athletic boy-next-door.

When Quinn had gone up to the hat and drawn Tina's name, he had realized instantly that he was now partnered with Kurt. He nearly jizz'd his pants when Mr. Schue said, "And that leaves Puck and Kurt paired together." (Jizz'd his pants was one of his favorite expressions he came up with after Finn told him in middle school about how he jizz'd his pants one time when his mom forced him to watch Sex and the City with her. So naturally, he teased him mercilessly. It was what good best friends did.)

Puck was going to get to spend an entire week with Kurt Hummel, and there was no way the smaller boy could get out of it. He felt like Hanukah had come early.

Mr. Schue had just dismissed Glee for the day when Kurt approached him.

"Puck," Kurt simply stated.

Two can play that game.

"Hummel."

Kurt rolled his eyes at Puck's lack of conversation.

"Well seeing as how we will be forced to spend time together over the next week, I'd like to set some ground rules first," Kurt dictated, while pushing his bangs out of the way.

Puck had always liked Kurt's hair. It wasn't anything over-the-top like one would except to see on the small boy, especially considering his choice of clothing style. And it didn't stand out like Puck's regrown mohawk. But it always looked nice, and today his hair looked even more amazing than usual. His hair was more poofed out in a way, looking a tad manlier. His bangs seemed longer, but Puck guessed that they just lacked the usual product he used.

Speaking of his look, Puck noticed Kurt's outfit was even more stunning than usual. His shirt was skin tight, clinging to his body so that you could make out the outline of a thin, but defined chest. The tight skinny jeans he was currently sporting made his ass look absolutely delicious, and the scarf just teased him. Puck wanted to see the sexy skin of the neck underneath.

Puck was shaken out of his musings by a slight nudge on his shoulder.

"Puck, are you okay? You like zoned out for five minutes," Kurt inquired, sounding concerned.

This made Puck smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered dreamily.

Looking at Kurt's raised eyebrow, Puck mentally shook himself. God, he could be such a loser sometimes! When it came down to it, Puck just wasn't his normal, smooth self around Kurt. He might as well stamp, "Hi my name is Noah Puckerman, and I'm gay for Kurt Hummel," onto his forehead. But in small letters, of course, so it all fit.

"What were you saying, Hummel? I got wrapped up thinking about how hott I am."

Puck had learned early on that when one makes some sort of mistake and looks like a fool, just act cocky and pretend like nothing weird happened. The theory had worked for him in many situations, like the time he got caught staring at Mike Chang backside in the shower after basketball. He answered his teammates' inquiries with a simple statement. "I thought one of the short haired Cheerios had snuck into the showers with us." The other guys had laughed, giving him high fives, while Mike Chang had just jokingly punched him in the shoulder.

"What I was saying, Puck, was that I only have time to 'bond' after school because this weekend is Nationals," Kurt snapped at him.

"But we haven't even gone to Regionals yet," Puck pointed out.

He loved making the younger boy flustered.

Kurt stomped his foot in frustration, rolling his eyes.

"For the CHEERIOS, you Neanderthal. I think you've taken one too many hits to the head in football. It's clearly damaged your brain, even more so than it was before that."

Puck smirked. Kurt was just too cute.

"I was just kidding, woman. Chill out."

Kurt let out a long sigh.

"Alright, so I'm busy tonight, but do you want to just mingle for a bit after Glee? I want to get this assignment over and done with fast. I have better things to do."

Puck wondered what other things Kurt needed to do. Probably reorganize his closet or buy his own clothing store. He knew from some documentary his little sister made him watch that many millionaires in the fashion industry started at a young age.

"Yeah, whatever, that works. We should just grab food or something. Glee makes me hungry."

"That's fine, but I get to pick the place. My figure just can't handle all the greasy food of the places you call 'restaurants'." Kurt emphasized his statement by lifting his shirt up just an inch and (attempting) to grab at the (nonexistent) fat that clung to his skin.

Puck couldn't help but stare at the exposed skin of the boy's stomach. It was just so pale, and he could tell it was smooth. He imagined what it would feel like to touch the skin there. He bet Kurt was ticklish.

* * *

(Kurt)

After Mr. Schue announced their "Get to Know Each Other" assignment, the rest of the time in the club was spent practicing their scales. So naturally, when Mr. Schue left the choir room to run a few errands around the school, Mercedes and Kurt pushed their chairs closer together and bantered about the bet.

"How much did you pay Mr. Schue to allow you to work with Puck?" Mercedes demanded.

"Girl you're becoming paranoid. What, do you think you're gonna lose?" Kurt retorted back.

"Hun, please, if I was worried, I wouldn't have started this bet in the first place. Now answer my question."

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Fate has brought Puck and me together. I am undoubtedly chosen to win, and I think this instance proves it. I did nothing to the hat or Mr. Schue."

He couldn't believe she seriously thought he'd cheat! Such things were demeaning and absolutely below him. He would win fair and square, and then proceed to brag relentlessly for the rest of the school year. He's never lost a bet.

Yet.

Kurt noticed out of his peripheral vision that Santana was looking at him again. Well, more like staring. And smirking. It seriously freaked him out, so he turned to the Latina girl and asked what her deal was.

"Oh nothing, Hummel, I was just admiring your outfit. Red is a very flattering color on you," she replied silkily.

"Uh, thanks sweetie. You look fabulous too, just like always," he complimented

Kurt turned back to face Mercedes and just shrugged his shoulders at her inquiring look. He didn't know what Santana's deal was, and he didn't have time to worry about it.

Mr. Schue came in ten minutes later, dismissing them for the day. His conversation with Mercedes had put Kurt in a bad mood, and Santana's staring had irked him deep down. He felt like he was missing something, and he HATED that. It was like almost completing a puzzle and realizing you've lost the most important piece.

Kurt couldn't help but be a little rude to Puck when he spoke to him. He had a habit of taking out his bad moods on others. Calling the taller boy a "Neanderthal" and snapping at him several times probably wasn't a good way to start a friendship. But at least Puck seemed to take his attitude with a grain of salt. Most of the Glee kids had come to accept his diva moments he noticed, grateful. He really was such a girl sometimes, which he accepted of course. After all, it just added to his fabulousness.

His conversation with Puck had been odd, to say the least. He would just zone out, and stare straight at Kurt while he was lost in his thoughts. It made him really uncomfortable. Kurt also noticed how Puck kept looking at his stomach when he lifted his shirt up, and so he had quickly pulled his the garment back down, looking away, embarrassed. Kurt had been sensitive about his weight after Ms. Sylvester had said his hips were pear shaped. He'd given up on his extreme dieting a long time ago (it really just sucked) but he still felt a little self conscious, especially around toned guys such as Puck.

Puck had bid him goodbye shortly after they decided to meet after Glee, and agreed they would just figure out exactly where they were going to go later on. They had exchanged numbers, Kurt typing his number into Puck's phone, and Puck typing his number into Kurt's.

Kurt glided to his car, glad school was finally over. He was so ready for some R and R at the mall. He debated treating himself to a mani/pedi at the salon. His mind, body, and soul needed to be in the best possible condition for him to pull of his seduction task. He made a mental note to visit the bookstore.

It was time to get some guidance on how to befriend and seduce a stud.

* * *

Author's Note: Just got a new job so there will be updates less often. But I'll try to make them nice and long each time I post a new chapter! :)


	6. Chapter 6

Kurt drove to the mall in high spirits. Some people's best ideas came from their time in the shower, others from lying down at night before bed; Kurt's mind was often stimulated as he wandered the mall, looking for the latest fashion trends. And in this case, the ugliest, most anti-fashion outfits he could find.

As he sauntered into the mall, he elected to enter the bookstore first. He often lost track of time flipping through racks of clothes, and even though he was searching for the ugliest outfit to ever grace the Earth, Kurt was one who completed every mission with 100% effort…meaning that he wouldn't settle on a purchase until he was sure it was perfectly hideous (and most likely just before the mall closed for the night.)

The bookstore wasn't a place he visited often, but Kurt knew that searching for advice on how to seduce someone who is straight would be pretty complicated. There was something to appreciate in the ability to hold onto a book; an object that was tangible and could be carried anywhere. Online columns were good for writing papers but involved a lot of bookmarking and printing out of pages if they were to be easily accessible.

Baldwin Books was the only bookstore in town and run locally by two male friends. Kurt wasn't one to assume things, especially when it came to people's sexuality, but he was fairly certain the two "friends" were gay partners. They prided themselves on decorating and running the store themselves (with the help of their female relatives who ran the cash registers), but there was NO way to straight men could have such stunning taste in décor.

The walls were painted a light blue and decorated with stunning black and white pictures of celebrities reading books. Couches spread throughout the room were a brilliant white leather and soft classical music was played throughout the store. To Kurt, the place felt more like a day spa tossed in the middle of a library, complete with complimentary tea at the coffee counter, located on the side of the store.

Kurt headed straight for the advice section in the back of the store. He rummaged through several advice books, including Managing Your Acne, How to Work a Tractor, Dip for Dummies, and Romancing your Coworker, until he founded what he wanted, hidden behind all the other useless advice books. He was actually surprised any store in Ohio would carry this book, but assuming his belief on the sexuality of the owners' was true, it shouldn't have come as much of a shock. He turned the back of the book over so he could read the summary on the back.

**How to Seduce a Straight Man: A Gay Man's Journey for the Allusive Heterosexual Partner**

Note from the author: This extensive advice book guides readers through the tough process of seduction. Being human, we tend to fall in love with those we can't have. This issue is even more prevalent for homosexual men, since the males we are around 99% of the time are unobtainable, aka "straight." As my wife has noted in her book "_So You Want Your Best Girl Friend to be Your Girlfriend? Here's How!_", girls are attracted to their own gender often, even if they don't realize it. What does this have to do with you? Men are the SAME way. May it be the desire for the "forbidden fruit" or the satisfaction of having a partner who truly understands your needs, many straight men fanaticize about other men in their dreams and find themselves having urges to engage in sexual interactions with their male friends. Don't believe me? Just look at sports. Constantly athletes are seen slapping each other on the butt, they shower together, and games are filled with comments like "penetrating the seam" and "going to the hole." I don't even need to tell you how homosexual football and wrestling are; it's pretty obvious to anyone. But society has allowed them to express their homosexual fantasies in the most "straight" way possible; through competition and manliness. So next time you think the boy who sits behind you in bio won't ever return your feelings, or your colleague at the office really would rather make out with his dog instead of another dude, just remember this; he probably, deep down, wants your more than you want him. Seduction of a straight man is a multi step process that few gay men are willing to take. If you think you're ready, begin reading this book and prepare yourself for the satisfaction of winning over the man of your dreams.

Kurt had to agree with the author's observations. He found it ironic that the jocks would make fun of him for being gay, yet were always trying to touch each other.

Just as he was about to head to the cash register, a deep voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Hummel?"

Kurt looked up, surprised, and started into the hazel eyes of one Noah Puckerman.

* * *

Puck had left school that day with the intention of going home to relax. His night was going to be filled with Xbox and rocking out on his guitar since he was lucky enough not to have homework. He didn't work at Sheets N's Things again until Saturday, something he was not looking forward to.

Of course, upon entering his house, his plans crashed around him.

His little sister was lying face down on the couch, crying, and Quinn was nowhere in sight.

"What's wrong princess?" he asked the 8 year old, as he sat down next to her on the couch.

"Mommy got called into work and Quinn's at some meeting or something," Sarah sniffled. "I need an outfit for my chorus concert tomorrow, and I have to be prettier than Daisy Bolton."

Puck sighed. He knew his sister was prettier than any of the little brats at her school, but apparently she didn't realize this.

"Why don't you wear any of the dresses you already have?"

His sister immediately jumped up to her feet and started pacing around the living room, all traces of tears gone.

"You're just like mommy! You just don't get it! Everyone at school has already seen me in those dresses, I need something new. Daisy was talking today about the new dress she got at Macy's. It's just not fair that I can't have something new too," she yelled, plopping down on the couch next to him, laying her head in his lap.

Girls were so weird, Puck thought to himself, as he rubbed circles on her back.

He turned to Sarah, ready to give her a lesson on not being greedy and vain, when he was met with big, brown, puppy dog eyes.

"Will you please take me?" Sarah begged.

He really wanted to say no. Puck wanted nothing more than to lay on his bed and play his guitar until dinner time. But he just couldn't say no to that face, and Sarah knew it.

"Fine, but you owe me brat."

Sarah jumped up, hugging him, and ran upstairs to get ready. His mom came into the living room just as Sarah was leaving.

"Noah, hunny, would you mind-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, I'll take her shopping."

His mom beamed at him, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, before grabbing her keys from the key rack.

"Will you pick up a cooking book for me while you're there? I want to learn how to make those cakes I always see on TV. I believe the book is called 'How to Be a Cake Boss,'" his mom asked.

"Yeah, sure. Have fun at work."

"I'll be home later tonight. Be good and make sure your sister doesn't run off at the mall like last time," she instructed, before walking out the door.

Twenty minutes later, the two siblings entered the mall, with Sarah grabbing onto his hand.

"What are you doing, munchkin?" Puck questioned the younger girl.

"Mommy said I could only go shopping with you if I promised not to run off. By holding your hand, I won't be tempted to go look at stuff without you…and this way, you can't ditch me."

Puck remembered the last time they had gone to the mall together. He'd been flirting with some chick at the food court, when he looked around, and found his little sister was nowhere in sight. After panicking and at one point, calling his mom, he had found her asleep on one of the bean bag chairs in the kid section of the bookstore. That incident had been so totally her fault, but of course, he got blamed, and grounded for a month.

"You're killing my image as a badass," Puck argued, trying to shake Sarah's hand off of his. The little girl tightened her grip, and he gave up trying to make her let go.

"Oh please, Noah, everyone knows you're a sissy."

Only his sister could get away with such comments. Had someone at school questioned his badasseness, they would have found themselves waking up with multiple broken bones, face down in the dumpster.

So because he couldn't beat up his sister, he did the next best thing; ruffled her hair. She screeched, letting go of his hand, and ran the short distance to the bookstore.

"Why don't you go hang out in the baby section, while I find this book for mom?" Puck said when he caught up to her, pointing in the direction of the kids section.

"But I'm thirsty," Sarah whined, sticking out her bottom lip.

He handed his sister three dollars, giving her clear instructions not to leave the store without him. Sarah promised, and Puck went off to find the book his mother asked him to buy.

Upon entering the advice section, Puck noticed he wasn't alone. Kurt Hummel stood in front of him, silently staring at the back of a rather large, blue book.

Before he could stop himself, Puck called out Kurt's name.

The smaller boy turned around at the sound of his voice, his face flushing as soon as he recognized who had called him.

"Um, hey Puck," Kurt stammered, hiding the book behind his back.

"What are you doing here?" Puck questioned, genuinely curious about why Kurt Hummel was in the advice section of a bookstore. The kid seemed to have the answers to everything.

"I'm just picking up something for, um, Brittany. Yeah, she needed a book on how to do her makeup better. You know, how to apply eye liner, mascara, and eye shadow," Kurt stuttered, backing up slowly away from Puck.

The taller jock laughed. Kurt was seriously bad at lying. No wonder why no one believed him when he said he was straight.

"Dude, Brittany can't read. And if she needed make up help, I'm pretty sure you and Santana could help her without the use of a book. You suck at lying."

Before Kurt could process the truth in his words, Puck strode quickly to the younger boy, reaching around him, and pried the book from his hands. He looked down at the cover, and immediately felt anger boil up inside him.

The cover depicted a strong, athletic looking boy, with brown hair and light skin, standing next to a smaller boy, who was dressed in the latest fashion trends. Both boys had their arms around each other, and a look of utter adoration on their faces. It looked strikingly similar to Finn and Kurt, in Puck's opinion.

Of course Kurt Hummel would need advice on the one thing he couldn't seem to succeed at. He'd never been able to get Finn Hudson to realize that Kurt was totally in love with him. Puck had probably been the first one to notice Kurt's obsession with the gangly teen, and it had irked him from day one. Kurt was supposed to stare at him in Glee, not Finn. And it pissed him off even more knowing that Kurt was wasting his time. Finn was too wrapped up in Quinn and Rachel to have feelings for any dude.

Just as he was about to say something to Kurt, a voice behind him caused him to turn around.

"Noah, who is this guy?" Sarah asked, sliding her hand into his empty hand, and holding a Sprite in the other hand.

"I'm Kurt Hummel." Puck watched as the shorter boy stuck his hand out and shook hands with Sarah, who had let go of his hand. "Puck and I are in Glee together."

"I'm Sarah," she said, giving Kurt a small curtsey, which earned a small smile from the two boys. "I'm eight years old and I'm in third grade. I really like your scarf. It's very pretty. Noah never dresses as pretty as you."

Kurt smiled, and took the garment off, allowing Sarah to try it on herself. Puck was shocked, to say the least. He knew how particular the boy was about his clothes, and he never thought the shorter boy would allow anyone, especially a child, touch his most precious belongings.

"Your outfit is very pretty too," Kurt complimented the younger girl.

Puck watched as his sister beamed at Kurt, and spun around in a circle to show off her new accessory.

"Guess what, Kurt? I have a solo in our chorus concert tomorrow!"

"Wow, that's impressive, Sarah. Does your brother help you practice your singing?" Kurt asked, smiling down at the little girl.

"Sometimes, but he says he's too busy now," Sarah answered, giving Puck a small glare, "We used to give concerts for mommy after dinner. He'd play guitar and sing back up, while I'd be the lead singer. And obviously, I was the better dancer so-"

Kurt started giggling, leading Puck to put his hand over Sarah's mouth to keep her from sharing any more embarrassing stories.

"We need to get going, Sarah, if you want to get that outfit for your concert tomorrow," Puck pointed out, putting his hand on her shoulder to steer her in the direction of the exit.

The three walked to the checkout line together. They paid for their books, and walked towards the front doors.

"Here's your scarf back, Kurt. Thanks for letting me try it on."

Sarah took the scarf off, handing it to Kurt. The fashionable boy paused briefly and then handed it back to her.

"I want you to wear this at your concert tomorrow. It's a really lucky scarf, and it'll make any outfit you choose to wear look absolutely fabulous."

"Thank you so much!" Sarah exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Kurt's waist. "Will you come to my concert tomorrow at 8pm?" Sarah pleaded, giving Kurt her famous puppy dog eyes. "Please please please!"

Kurt looked at Puck, who just shrugged back in response. He hoped Kurt would say yes, but at the same time it would be kind of awkward to have him at his little sister's concert, especially since they weren't really friends. And in all honesty, he had forgotten he promised his mother and Sarah that he would go to the event.

"Yeah that sounds like fun. Puck, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Sarah," Kurt replied, patting Sarah on the head after she let go of his waist, and leaving the store.

Puck helped Sarah pick out a new dress for her concert in a daze. He was amazed at how kind Kurt could be and could tell his sister really liked him. Sarah was really picky about which of Puck's friends she would talk to, spending most of her time talking with Brittany about rainbows or drooling over Finn. (When Puck noted that everyone was in love with Finn, he meant it. He had a feeling his mom even had a preference for the quarterback.)

Slipping into bed that night, Puck vowed to make tomorrow one of the best days of his life. He was going to make Kurt Hummel his, no matter what it took.

* * *

A/N: Six chapters down! Thank you to all my reviewers, you guys are great!

I'm trying to put in as much as I can from the episodes into the story, but some things will be adjusted. I think the newest episodes are set sometime after Christmas (I think Puck's mom had him watch Schindler's list as their holiday tradition) and this story is set in November right now, but features things from the new eps (slashing Vocal Adrenaline's tires).

Glee finale tomorrow! Exciting!

Please review, it's much appreciated :)


	7. Chapter 7

Puck woke up earlier than usual the next morning, excited for the first time in his life to go to school. His dream that night had encouraged him even more to share his feelings with Kurt.

The two of them had gone to the Lima City Fair and Puck had been trying to convince Kurt, to no avail, to eat a piece of funnel cake. The soprano had repeatedly refused, saying the item was nothing more than wasted calories with no satisfying taste to make up for the indulgence. He had distracted Puck by entwining his small hand with his larger, calloused one and tugged him closer. The shorter boy stood on his tiptoes and planted a gentle kiss on Puck's cheek, pulling away with a small smirk on his lips. Puck didn't remember the rest of the dream, only recalling the end where the two of them were riding the Ferris wheel, Puck's arm wrapped around Kurt's slender shoulders.

The dream had awakened a long repressed desire within him. He'd held his feelings for Kurt close to him for years, making sure no one else would even guess that he had feelings for the younger boy. Puck was tired of keeping secrets and was determined to win Kurt over.

His impulsive side wanted nothing more than to run up to Kurt one day in the middle of lunch, confess his love for the smaller boy, and kiss him senseless. His more practical side, however, won, and he knew in order to convince Kurt his feelings were legitimate, he'd have to approach this task slowly and win Kurt over with his charm and overall personality. Puck knew he came across as a bad guy, but he could be a good guy too…at least that's what his mother told him. He was nothing like his father.

Sliding out of bed, Puck quietly headed to his bathroom, stopping to peek into Sarah's room. His little sister was curled into a small ball, arms wrapped around her stuffed unicorn, Sir Fluffles, which happened to be a birthday gift from Brittany and Santana. Puck smiled to himself and gently sat down next to her on the bed. He brushed her dark hair away from her face and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. Sarah began to stir, slowly opening his eyes.

"Five more minutes?" she mumbled, adjusting her position so her head was in his lap, her arms still wrapped around her stuffed animal.

"It's time to get up munchkin, you need to get ready for school," Puck said, rubbing small circles across her back.

It took only a second for his words to register with the young girl, and before he could even process what was happening, Sarah had jumped up from the bed and began running around her room.

"OH MY GOSH, am I going to be late? Ms. Liballa said if we were late or didn't come to school today we couldn't sing in the concert!" Sarah paused in her rant, turning to give him a harsh glare. "How could you wake me up so late, Noah? You know this is like, the most important day of my life."

Puck waited calmly for her to finish and gave his sister a smirk.

"I thought you would like to sleep late, you know, get some extra shut eye before your big debut."

"NOAH, seriously you- Sarah stopped mid sentence, following the direction of her brother's eyes, which lead her to her bedside clock. The time read 7:30A.M…her class didn't start until 9:30.

She smacked him on the shoulder, trying to run away before he could retaliate. Sarah wasn't fast enough, and Puck grabbed her from behind, wrapping his arms around her small frame and tickling her sides. Her screech was so loud, he let the girl go and covered his ears. Sarah, of course, was aware of the power of her voice, and was quite okay with causing her brother some ear pain any time he tried to tickle her.

Before Puck could comment on Sarah's freakishly high voice (that scarily reminded him of Rachel Berry's), his mother hurriedly rushed into the room, looking like she had run all the way up the stairs from her position in the kitchen.

"Sarah, sweetie…are you okay?" she stammered out in between breaths. Finally noticing that Puck was in the room, the older woman raised an eyebrow. "Why are you up so early Noah? It's only 7:35 that's an hour and a half earlier than usual."

Puck shrugged his shoulders, deciding to not tell his mom about Kurt. It was kind of embarrassing to ask his mother for advice on a dude, plus he wasn't sure how she would take the news of him being gay.

"I couldn't sleep," he lied smoothly.

He watched as his mom's face turned from confused to concerned. She quickly strode over to the jock, putting her hand on his forehead and cheek to check his temperature.

"Are you feeling all right? Do you think you're getting sick? Maybe you should stay home today," his mother questioned, placing her hands on her hips, a stance that indicated her concern.

Puck resisted rolling his eyes, placing his arm around his mom's shoulders.

"I'm just excited to learn today, mom. Nothing says fun like a full day of school, glee, and Sarah's concert."

Smirking at his mom, he turned to his sister to make sure she was ready on time for him to drive her to school, and left the room, leaving his mother one again in a state of confusion.

* * *

Kurt awoke the next day, anxious for what was to come. First he had to survive a day of school, a hard task in and of itself, then Glee, an afternoon learning about what made Noah Puckerman tick, followed by a chorus concert of a girl he'd met only once, who also happened to be the sibling of one of the biggest bullies in school. He briefly stopped his morning routine to wonder why he put himself in these situations.

When Sarah Puckerman had asked him to come to her concert, he just didn't have the heart to say no. Sure, it was kind of weird, especially since him and Puck weren't really friends, but Kurt had always wished he had a sibling to hang out with. In fact, he used to pray each night for a younger sister before he went to bed. Clearly, it never happened since his mother died when he was six, but he supposed it was nice growing up as an only child. Kurt was blessed to have a father who would do everything to give his son anything he could ever want, but he had to admit it was still kind of lonely.

The night before, he had burned the ugliest outfit he could find at the mall in their living room fire place. His father hadn't been home, so he was lucky not to have to answer any questions regarding his actions. Kurt figured today would be a "game changing performance" so to speak, a term he had overheard when his dad was watching a football game. The sacrificial burning had made him confident today would help push the bet in his favor, mostly because he was going to spend half the day with the jock.

After finishing getting ready, he sprayed a bit of his new American Eagle cologne on his neck. Kurt typically bought more expensive colognes, but the bottle had been a gift from Mercedes, who claimed it reminded her of him. Checking the time, he sighed, realizing his anxiety had caused him to get ready faster than usual. Kurt had thirty minutes to waste until he had to leave for school, so he decided to read a bit of the book he bought yesterday to give him some tips about how to act today.

Sitting down at his desk, Kurt laid the book down and opened it up to the first page. He began reading.

_Chapter one:_

_The first step to most successful relationships is getting to know each other before dating. Studies have shown that couples who were friends before they started dating were forty seven percent more likely to stay together than couples who had begun dating after knowing each other less than a month. Getting to know what your future partner's likes and dislikes is important because it gives you things to discuss when you hang out. Finding things you have in common is even more valuable because it means that you two have activities or interests you can bond over._

_For instance, you might absolutely hate the sport your guy is obsessed with. By showing some willingness to watch the game with him, or discuss the latest news about his favorite team (Wikipedia is the best weapon for such activities), your boo will see you're making an effort to do the things he likes. In return, if he's a good pick, he'll attempt to participate in an activity you like. Men find it irresistible when their partner takes interest in something they enjoy doing; in fact, most straight men complain their female partners won't even given their interests the time of day. And who knows, you may actually enjoy doing some of the things your partner does! And if you dislike most of the things he likes, don't worry too much about it. After all, opposites attract._

Kurt didn't have time to finish the first chapter before his phone started vibrating. He picked up the phone and read the text from Mercedes, letting him know that she was on her way to pick him up for school. Normally, Kurt drove his own vehicle, but his Navigator was getting the oil changed today at his dad's shop.

Before gathering his school books, Kurt tucked the advice book into the back of his desk drawer, attempting to keep it away from prying eyes. Mercedes loved going through his drawers for reasons unknown to him. He had to admit that the book had given him some good stuff to work with. And he was glad the first chapter's advice had fit perfectly with their Glee assignment.

A loud honk from outside let him known his best friend had arrived. He swung his Marc Jacobs bag over his shoulder, said goodbye to his dad as he walked out, and slid into the passenger seat of the diva's sky blue Honda Civic.

"Hey sweetie," he greeted her, leaning over to swap cheek kisses with her.

"Boy, you look extra fly today. Is there a special occasion I need to know about?"

Kurt had picked his outfit out with even more care than the day before. His dark blue skinny jeans were even tighter than yesterday's, not only accenting his perfectly round bottom but clinging to his thighs and calves to show off how toned he was from dancing. After much consideration, he decided on a dark green button down shirt that brought out the color of his eyes. He may have also added a tad of eye liner to make his eyes pop even more, but no one needed to know that in his opinion. His morning skincare routine took even longer than usual, but beauty was something that took time.

"I may or may not be going out to dinner with Puck tonight and then he may or may not be taking me to a concert," Kurt added smugly, deciding she didn't need to know the whole truth. He wanted her to sweat a little, thinking he was farther ahead in his seduction bet than really was. And in all honestly, the incredulous look on her face made it even more worthwhile to tell the little white lie.

"Well damn white boy, I'm starting to think you're more into this bet than I thought you would be. Are you finally getting over Finn?"

Kurt resisted the urge to roll his eyes. No one could replace Finn in his mind. Yes Noah Puckerman was dead sexy, but Finn had a great personality to go with his looks. He was attractive, funny, loyal, kind, and every other good word Kurt could possibly think of. True, he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but Kurt was a firm believer that there was more to a person than just one thing.

"Of course not 'Cedes. I am still deeply in love with Finn Hudson, and I don't think anything can change that," he replied evenly. "I'm just determined to get this over with as soon as possible so I can get to dressing you each morning."

Their conversation on the bet ended after Mercedes finished laughing at his declaration, and they discussed the latest celebrity gossip the rest of the way to school. Pulling swiftly into a parking spot, the two friends exited the car and bid goodbye to each other as they entered the school.

Kurt sauntered into Spanish class, heading for his new seat in the back of the classroom. He ignored Mr. Schuester's look of confusion, and pulled his book out upon sitting down. Kurt arrived before Puck, and decided on a whim to move his desk a bit closer to where the other boy would be sitting. He usually reserved such actions for worthier people, like Finn or Mercedes, but he figured sitting closer to the jock would allow for a possible conversation.

Kurt had to try his best not to let his jaw drop when the jock strode in right before the bell rang.

Puck was wearing a pair of tight fitting jeans (not as tight as Kurt's of course, because no one could pull that look off besides himself), and a snug long sleeved green shirt. The pants fit perfectly, in Kurt's opinion, and showed off the jock's toned legs and butt, making Puck a delicious sight for anyone to look at. The shirt clung to Puck's biceps, chest, and abs, leaving very little up to the imagination. It looked like the Jewish boy had even shaved off the hair that was growing back on the top of his head. Kurt was shocked by this, and even though he thought Puck looked better with a shaved head, he knew just how much Puck had worshipped his mohawk.

The sound of Puck sitting down at the desk beside him caused Kurt to snap out of his thoughts. He refused to look over at the older boy and focused on his classmates instead. Many of the girls were still staring back at Puck, some with their mouths opened, while others whispered excitedly to their neighbors. Kurt noticed that even a few of the guys were ogling Puck, but he refused to admit to himself that this fact made him a bit jealous. After all, Puck was HIS future boyfriend, so they better back the eff off if they knew that was good for them.

Kurt wasn't very good at sharing.

* * *

Puck had taken so much time getting ready that morning that he had to speed in his truck to get Sarah to school on time. His mother had asked him before she left for work why he was running even later than usual if had gotten up early, but he just lied and said he was playing his Xbox.

In reality, he'd taken all the extra time to get ready, spending over twenty minutes in the shower (as opposed to his usual five minutes). He was well aware that Kurt liked clean shaven guys (just look at Finn, the kid didn't have a single hair on his body anywhere besides what was on his head and legs). Puck had gone as far as to shave his hair that had been growing back, deciding he wouldn't grow his mohawk back… just not yet at least.

He'd spent the most time trying to find something to wear. Puck dug through his entire closet, judging a combination of various outfits in his full length mirror before he found the one he wanted hanging in the back of the closet. His mom had said he'd outgrown the garments last year, but Puck, after much consideration, decided it would do for today. The shirt and pants were quite tight, a style he usually left to people like Kurt. Puck usually preferred clothes that were slightly baggy and extremely comfortable, but he was confident enough that he looked good in anything he chose. He remembered telling Finn once that he could wear a dress to school and people would still think he was cool… and hott.

Walking into school with Quinn, thankfully on time, Puck tried to ignore the people staring at him and attempted to locate Kurt within the crowd. He couldn't find the shorter boy, and figured he must be in class already. Feeling nervous about the day ahead, Puck procrastinated going to Spanish by walking Quinn to her first period. The blonde hadn't commented on this, but she gave him a hug when they parted ways, clearly sensing his distress.

He entered the class slowly, making it to his seat just as the final bell rang. Ignoring everyone else in the room, Puck glanced out of the corner of his eye to watch Kurt. The smaller boy looked slightly flustered, and was intently looking around the classroom at anywhere but him. Puck had to smirk to himself, mentally patting himself on the back for being such a stud.

However, his smugness was soon replaced with horror as Mr. Shuester turned the lights off and explained they were going to be watching a movie. Normally, he'd be stoked that his start to the day would involve doing nothing but filling out some lame worksheet, but he couldn't bear being this close to Kurt.

He was starting to feel like his life was turning into a cliché movie. Sarah had forced him to watch Twilight and New Moon with her one weekend when he was sick, and he now understood how Edward felt sitting next to Bella. Granted, he didn't want to eat Kurt or anything like that, but the smell of the smaller boy's cologne and just being so close to the boy (he swore Kurt's desk was closer to his than normal), was driving his hormones wild. He went as far as to lean away from Kurt, towards the opposite side of the desk, much like he'd seen Edward do in the biology lab scene.

Puck for the first time ever, tried his hardest to focus on the movie that was being played, and after much concentration, he was slowly starting to forget the boy next to him.

That was until the sound of a chair screeching on the tile distracted him from the movie. Kurt's desk was now pressed up against his, allowing both their knees to touch one another's.

"Kurt, is everything alright?" Mr. Schue asked.

"I can't see the subtitles," the smaller boy replied evenly, "so since there aren't any empty seats, I adjusted my desk so I could see it all."

"Good problem solving skills Kurt! Everyone else can take from Kurt's example, and move around as they need to."

Mr. Schuester's statement allowed his students to scoot their desks closer to their friends, who would use the light of the movie to pass notes while their teacher wasn't looking.

Puck could feel his heart beating faster as Kurt's cologne once again dominated his senses. He began feeling really warm, so he rolled his shirt sleeves up past his elbows. The jock also crossed his left leg over his right, successfully breaking the physical contact between the two. When Kurt casually moved his arm to write an answer down, Puck tried not to notice how nice it felt to have the boy's soft skin brush up against his arm. He thought of football plays to keep the images of last night's dream out of his mind, along with other previous and much dirtier dreams.

Thankfully, the movie didn't take up the whole class period, and soon enough the lights were turned on. Mr. Schue had agreed to spend the rest of the time going over the answers to the worksheet, but Puck noticed that Kurt didn't move his desk away from his.

Kurt hadn't even talked to him yet and he felt like he was going to have a heart attack. Puck was starting to wonder when he started to act like such a chick and vowed to head to the school's gym to lift weights during lunch. He needed something to make himself feel manlier.

When the bell rang, Kurt moved his desk back to its original position, and gave him a small smile before he left the room. Puck was glad Kurt hadn't expected a response, because he couldn't form a coherent thought, let alone speak. Kurt Hummel had never smiled at him without some biting remark beforehand.

He was seriously starting to doubt he would be able to survive the day with his dignity intact, and it was only second period. Fuck.

* * *

A/N: Sorry there was such a long wait for an update. My charger broke, so I couldn't get on my laptop for a week. Next chapter is going to be uber eventful! Reviews will make me post it faster :)


	8. Chapter 8

The rest of the school day passed quickly for Kurt, thankfully.

Spanish class had been the only eventful part of his day. He decided to sit by Puck again in the back of the classroom but realized his new seat prevented him from seeing the front of the room. Frustrated because he couldn't read the translation of the movie Mr. Schuester had turned on, he managed to capitalize on this dilemma by taking quite a bit of a risk.

Scooting his desk even closer to Puck's, he positioned himself so that he was "accidently" allowing their knees to touch one another. The muscular jock hadn't flinched away or called him a fag, but he had slowly moved his knee away from Kurt's, making his left leg cross over his right.

Kurt had to keep from smirking at the image in his peripheral vision. He'd never thought he'd see the day when Noah Puckerman would cross his legs like a refined gentleman. Maybe there was more to the boy than he thought… or maybe he just really didn't want to touch Kurt. But Kurt, being the somewhat vain diva that he is, doubted this, because why wouldn't anyone want to touch someone as fabulous as himself? It was just too bizarre to even think of.

Kurt left his 7th period and headed to Glee with an extra bounce in his step. He never thought he'd say this, but he was kind of excited to hang out with Puck. There was no way in Prada he'd rather hang out with Puck instead of Finn, but seeing as how him and Finn were kind of in a weird spot right now due to the whole-sharing-a-room fiasco, Kurt was pretty sure he wouldn't be spending any one on one time with the goofy quarterback anytime soon. Sigh. He'd just have to settle with second best, for now at least.

Just as he turned down the hallway leading to the choir room, he stopped dead in his tracks, shocked at the scene in front of him.

Karofsky was standing in front of Puck, whose arms were being held by Azimio and some jock Kurt didn't know. Karofsky's two cronies each had a leg wrapped around Puck's ankle, rendering him completely immobile. From his current location, Kurt could see the bruise already forming around Puck's eye but was glad to see that Karofsky had a pretty deep cut on his lip.

Kurt watched in horror as Karofsky pulled his fist back and punched Puck square in the jaw, and then followed with a swift kick right in his stomach. Puck fell silently to his knees, scrunching his face up in pain but amazingly not making a sound. Karofsky laughed and said something to Puck that Kurt couldn't hear.

Kurt, knowing his presence wouldn't do anything to help Puck, pulled out his cell phone and quickly typed a short message to Finn, telling him to come out of the choir room because he was in trouble and to bring Mr. Schuester.

Finn, bless him, appeared less than thirty seconds later with Mr. Schuester right behind him. The three bullies, hearing the choir door open from the opposite end of the hallway, quickly fled the scene, Karofsky bumping into Kurt's shoulder roughly as they passed.

Kurt moved carefully towards Puck, who still hadn't gotten up yet. The older jock was sitting on the ground, leaning against the locker with his legs stretched out in front of him. He was slowly rubbing circles on his stomach, eyes still shut.

"Puck, you alright man?" Finn asked, concern evident in his voice.

Puck opened his eyes, giving his former best friend a tight smile.

"Yeah dude, I'm good. Just give me a second."

Finn nodded his head in understanding, but before he could reply, Puck thanked him for showing up when he did.

"Anytime bro," Finn returned Puck's smile, turning around to head back toward the choir room.

Mr. Schuester lingered behind, clearly not convinced that his rebellious pupil was okay.

"Puck, I insist you go see the nurse before coming back to Glee. You could have-"

"Yeah Mr. Schue, I'll get right on that" Puck interjected from his position on the ground.

Just as Mr. Schuester was about to reply, Kurt decided to butt in.

"I'll make sure he gets to the nurse, Mr. Schue," Kurt quietly interjected, refusing to look down at Puck as he spoke.

"Oh, hey Kurt, I didn't see you there," their teacher replied, not hiding how surprised he was by Kurt's offer. "Alright then, I'll see you two in Glee when you're all done."

Kurt watched Mr. Schuester walk back down the hall before he turned to Puck, offering him his hand to help him up.

The taller boy glared up at his hand but wordlessly accepted the offer nonetheless. After tugging Puck to his feet (Kurt would have to admit that Puck did most of the work…he may be strong despite his small stature, but there was no way in Gucci he could lift Puck all on his own), Kurt turned his back on the jock to take a short drink out of the nearby water fountain in an attempt to give the jock a second to recover.

Just as he was about to turn around and inform Puck that they should head to the nurses office, a loud sound made him jump.

Spinning on his heel, Kurt immediately understood where the noise had come from; Puck punching the nearest locker as hard as he could. Rolling his eyes at the unnecessary display of violence, Kurt strode over to where Puck was currently standing. The jock was leaning against the locker, face scrunched in obvious anger and pain, with his left hand bleeding profusely at his side.

Kurt tentatively grabbed a hold of Puck's injured hand and attempted to assess the damage. The taller boy tensed but didn't pull away, and Kurt was able to determine that Puck had split four of his knuckles open.

"I'm not going to the nurse, Hummel" Puck grunted out, still letting Kurt examine his hand. "It's nothing a band aid can't fix."

"And tell me, Puck, do you happen to have a band aid on you?" Kurt bit back.

Smirking at Puck's lack of response, Kurt took a minute to decide his plan of action. It would help him gain Puck's trust if he went against Mr. Schue's orders and didn't take him to the nurse. But now that the boy had stupidly gone and punched the locker, there was no way they could walk back into Glee with him in the current state.

"Of course you don't. But luckily for you, I do." Mentally patting himself on the back for coming up with a genius plan in a short amount of time, Kurt let go of Puck's bloody hand and sauntered off towards the nearest bathroom.

Upon hearing the other boy's footsteps following him, Kurt smiled to himself. Some extra one on one time was a much needed bonus to his day, even considering the unpleasant circumstances.

Arriving at his destination, Kurt paused in front of the two doors. Resolutely making up his mind, Kurt entered the girl's bathroom, holding the door open for Puck. This time, however, the jock didn't follow him.

Mentally sighing, Kurt turned around to glare at Puck.

"Are you just going to stand out there and bleed to death?"

Puck matched Kurt's glare perfectly.

"I'm not going in the girl's bathroom, Hummel. I have a dick ya know." Puck argued, crossing his arms over his chest, letting his injured hand rest on the top of his arm.

"That's nice. The girl's bathroom is more sanitary and smells nicer, so unless you want to get a staph infection in that hand, I'm sure you can suck it up just this once," Kurt retorted, turning to glance back into the bathroom, "Besides, there's no one in here."

Grumbling under his breath, Puck entered the bathroom and stopped in front of the sink. He washed the blood off his hand, accepting a paper towel from Kurt to scrub the dried blood off his skin.

Kurt rummaged in his bag for his "Necessities Kit." The small box was something he never left home without. It contained important items like eyeliner, concealer, band aids, Neosporin, buttons, a sewing needle, some thread, nail clippers, and an eyebrow tweezer.

Pulling the box of band aids out, Kurt stood up. What he saw almost made him drop the box onto the floor.

Puck had been clearly analyzing the damage Karofsky and his goons had done to his body and had pulled up his shirt to see what kind of shape his stomach was in.

And for Kurt, Puck's stomach was in the most amazing shape he had ever seen, despite the tint of blue forming around his abs, indicating a large bruise was soon to form. Kurt ignored that, however, and instead focused on how tan the boy's stomach was and the way his abs flexed as he breathed in.

"Like what you see, Hummel"?

Kurt started in surprise at Puck's words and prayed he wasn't beginning to blush.

"Not really, no." Kurt noticed Puck's raised eyebrow and added, "I'm not into guys with freakishly large muscles."

Kurt mentally berated himself for letting that slip as he watched Puck frown. Sure it was a total lie and he just didn't want Puck to think he was drooling over him (which he so was), but it didn't do well for his chances on the bet if Puck was under the impression Kurt wasn't attracted to him.

Sighing, Kurt tried to rectify his mistake.

"I suppose yours are all right though."

Before the bet, Kurt never would have let Puck indulge in such an ego boost. In his opinion, the football player was too full of himself already. But through many issues of Cosmo magazine, Kurt knew that an occasional compliment was a good way to get a guy to be more open.

Ignoring Puck's huge smirk, Kurt placed the box of band aids on the counter and carefully peeled off the paper towel Puck had wrapped his hand in. The cuts weren't too deep on his knuckles but they were still bleeding a little bit.

"Hold your hand still and I'll put the band aids on," Kurt instructed, opening four band aids and leaving them face down on the counter.

Kurt gently placed each band aid onto the four cuts, Puck wincing each time. When he was done, Kurt held Puck's hand and lightly ran his finger over each band aid, making sure they clung neatly to Puck's skin.

As Kurt looked up, he was caught off guard by the intense look on Puck's face. It wasn't one of anger or disgust, but a more positive emotion Kurt couldn't place his finger on.

Lust perhaps?

The sound of a door opening caused Kurt to quickly drop Puck's hand as he spun around to see who had just walked in.

Tina had entered the bathroom, with Mercedes and Quinn right behind her.

"I told you he'd be in here," Tina remarked to the other girls, as Mercedes silently eyed the two boys.

"Puck are you alright?" Quinn asked, approaching Puck, "Finn told us Karofsky got to you-"

She gasped as she noticed the dark bruises starting to form on his face upon closer inspection. Kurt noticed how Puck pulled his shirt even father down with his good hand and let his injured hand fall behind his back out of the girls' sight.

"Your mom's going to kill you, ya know. We both told you to stop fighting," she finished, standing with her hand on her hip. Kurt mentally applauded the "diva no nonsense" stance. He had taught her so well.

"She won't even notice," Puck turned to look in the mirror once more, moving his head in all directions to assess the damage, "It's definitely not that bad."

"Uh, they got you pretty good, white boy. Your mom would have to be blind not to notice," Mercedes helpfully added, Tina nodding behind her.

"God Damnit, I'm so fucked," Puck yelled, kicking the trashcan in frustration. "I just finished being grounded, and those stupid fuckers are going to get me put back on punishment."

"Why'd they hit you anyways?" Tina quietly asked, scooting closer to Mercedes in case the muscular boy lashed out at her.

"No reason," Puck mumbled, though Kurt did notice the jock had shot him a sideways glance.

Interesting, Kurt thought, as he packed away his emergency kit. He'd file that observation away for later to analyze when he had more time to think.

Just as he was about to close the kit, Kurt was struck with a sudden inspiration on how to fix Puck's problem.

* * *

Noah Puckerman's day had gone from totally amazing to absolute shit after Spanish class ended. He'd forgotten to bring his English essay to class in his haste to get to school and had thus received a zero. Ditching lunch to go to the workout room had been a total disaster, as the hockey team members were currently occupying every piece of equipment. Bastards.

To top it all off, Karofsky and his goons had ambushed him on his way to Glee, leaving a few nice bruises on his perfect face.

He'd been walking to Glee, minding his own damn business, when the three bullies had exited an empty classroom he was about to pass.

"On your way to sing and dance with Homo Explosion, Puckerman?" Karofsky taunted. "I always knew you were a fag."

"You would know all about being gay, wouldn't you Karofsky? Everyone knows hockey players like playing with other people's sticks," Puck bit back, not missing a beat.

"Don't make me barf, Puck. So tell me, which one are you banging?"

Karofsky moved away from his lackeys, stopping just a foot away from Puck's face.

"Is it your homeboy Finn? You two don't seem so close anymore; maybe he realized you're not as good in the sack as you say you are?"

The hockey player started walking, circling Puck as he spoke.

Puck clenched his fist as he listened to Karofsky's words, his mind racing as he tried to figure out how he could get out of this one. He was a total stud, but three against one was unlikely to go in his favor.

"Or perhaps you're doing Chang?" Karofsky paused, as if to consider his next words, "No, that can't be it. He seems like he'd have much better taste than the likes of you."

Puck took a deep breath. He had to calm himself down before he did something stupid.

"No, I got it. You're fucking that little queer, Hummel aren't you?"

Karofsky paused in front of Puck so they were eye to eye.

"Tell me, Puck," he purred, "What does the little fag sound like when you bend him over? Does he scream your name, or does he scream Hudson's because he knows you're as close as he'll ever get to Wonder Boy?"

So much for regaining his self control, Puck thought sarcastically, as his fist connected with Karofsky's face. The hockey player must have been expecting this, as his left fist slammed into Puck's eye.

The fight had gone as Puck had expected. The two jocks who had remained silent through Karofsky's taunting had pinned him to the locker as their leader hit him in the jaw and stomach.

Somehow Finn and Mr. Schuester had decided to leave the choir room at just the right time and his tormentors had fled down the hall. He'd been mortified when Kurt had come out of the shadows, offering to take him to the nurse. Puck had punched the locker in frustration, ashamed that Kurt had seen him in such a weak position. He was a bad ass for Christ sakes; he should have been able to handle Karofsky on his own without having to be "saved" by what he guessed was Kurt's doing.

So now Puck found himself in the girl's bathroom (another knock down on his manliness) being bandaged up by Kurt who was tenderly holding his hand as he pushed down on the bandages to make sure they were going to stick to his skin.

Puck had seen the way Kurt was checking out his body when he lifted up his shirt and hadn't been able to resist teasing the smaller boy about it. He'd been somewhat upset when Kurt had told him he wasn't into guys with "freakishly large muscles" because there was no way Kurt couldn't find his guns attractive. Everyone worshipped them, even the straight dudes he worked out with. His mind had immediately pictured Finn, who was toned but mostly flat, whereas Puck's muscles were obvious even if he was standing still. Just as he was contemplating a temporary stoppage in working out, he heard Kurt mumble that his were "All right," which made Puck brighten completely. He'd just have to convince Kurt that muscles weren't overrated.

He was jerked out of his thoughts when Kurt looked up at him, his tongue jetting out to lick his bottom lip. Puck felt his entire body darken with desire at the unconscious gesture he'd seen Kurt do many times when he was unsure of what to do.

"Kiss him, kiss him you fool," his mind screamed at him, but his body refused to move.

Puck had wanted to scream at Tina, Mercedes, and Quinn as they entered the bathroom for breaking their connection.

Quinn made him realize that going home tonight with his face all bruised up was not likely to go over well with his mom. He'd just gotten done with his last punishment (he may have dragged his car key over his mom's ex boyfriends Corvette a few times, but whatever) and now he was going to get grounded for getting into another fight. He couldn't help it if he had a temper. His mom should be the one getting grounded, because he definitely inherited her fiery personality.

"Is Glee already over?" Kurt asked Mercedes, looking up from putting his things back into his bag. Puck briefly wondered if Kurt carried condoms in his little kit. The boy seemed like he'd be prepared for anything. He was tempted to peak into the kit to see what else was in there; the dirtier part of his mind (aka 95% of it) was convinced Kurt had handcuffs in there as well.

"Yeah, Mr. Schuester ended it early. Said he had some personal business to handle or something."

The girls all laughed, causing Puck to share a confused look with Kurt.

"We're fairly certain Ms. Pillsbury is back from her vacation," Quinn cleared up, which led the two boys to smile. Mr. Schue was so in love with their guidance counselor, but apparently his students and Coach Tanaka were the only ones who noticed.

"Puck, may I borrow your truck today, please? I need to go to the mall and get some new maternity clothes before the concert." Puck hesitated. He hated letting anyone drive his baby, but Quinn stuck her lip out in a little pout, which she undoubtedly learned from Sarah.

"Fine, but just be really careful. And make sure you don't take turns to sharply. Give her a minute to warm up, she hates the cold-"

He was cut off by Quinn giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, as she stuck her hand in his pocket and pulled his keys out.

"Thank you, I'll text you when I get home. Have fun with Kurt," Quinn smiled, turning to look at the small soprano. "Don't believe half the stuff he tells you Kurt, he likes to make up stories. I know the truth, so we can just compare stories tomorrow over some frozen yogurt?"

At Puck's indignant expression, the others in the room laughed.

"You think you know, but you have no idea, Quinny. Kurt Hummel is going to get the unrated story of thee Noah 'Puck' Puckerman," Puck exclaimed, flexing his arms as he spoke.

Quinn snorted, placing her arm around Kurt's slender hip.

"He's a giant nerd, he snores, and he secretly likes to cook and clean. That all you really need to know." Quinn gave Kurt a short hug, and began leaving the bathroom with Tina right behind her, ignoring Puck's glare.

"That's not true and you know it Q! You just wait until I tell all your dirty little secrets to Tina, then we'll see who's laughing then," he shouted at her retreating back.

"Call me when you get home, babe?" Mercedes asked Kurt, giving him a hug goodbye.

"Of course 'Cedes," Kurt answered, exchanging cheek kisses with his best friend. Puck wished he could be the diva right now. He'd do anything to have Kurt's lips on his skin.

The two were left in an awkward silence as Mercedes left the room. Puck watched Kurt fix his hair in the mirror, unsure of what exactly they were going to do next.

"So uh, where are we going to eat?" Puck asked, unable to stand the silence any longer.

"We are going to fix your face before we do anything else," was Kurt's only response.

Puck rolled his eyes. There was no way they were going to get rid of his huge bruises in a couple of hours. He'd just have to accept that he'd be showing up to his sister's concert looking like a "punk" as his mother would undoubtedly call him and accept his punishment as it came.

"Let me guess, you have some magic bruise remover in that little kit of yours that you got from Mrs. Weasley?" Puck joked, laughing to himself at Kurt's shocked expression.

The soprano turned to him, mouth still open in awe.

"You read Harry Potter?"

Puck shrugged.

"Once or twice," Puck felt a bit offended at the way Kurt raised his eyebrow, "I can read ya know!"

"I take it you've seen the movies as well?" Kurt inquired, turning back to fix his make up in the mirror.

"Yeah my sister made me watch them all once. I prefer books over to their movie adaptations usually, but the movies were pretty kick ass." Kurt nodded his head in agreement.

Satisfied with his reflection, which Puck always thought looked perfect no matter what situation they were in, Kurt picked his bag up off the floor.

"Ready?" Kurt headed to the door, once again holding it open for Puck.

"I still want to know where we're going and what you expect to do to my face."

"You'll see," Kurt replied mysteriously, as the two walked side by side down the empty hall.

They passed the spot where Karofsky and he fought, and Puck was tempted to begin plotting his revenge on the hockey player. But he knew he had to wait, for this was his time to get Kurt to fall for him.

Kurt led Puck to his car, a huge Navigator that was spotlessly clean. Puck stopped in admiration of the vehicle. It was definitely not a car he'd expect Kurt to drive but was pleasantly surprised about it. Puck's uncle had promised him a Navigator when he turned sixteen, but then had gone bankrupt when the stock market fell.

"Nice ride," he complimented, sliding into the plush seat.

"Thanks. My dad wouldn't get me a convertible, so we settled on this baby for my Sweet Sixteen."

Kurt turned on the radio, and Puck listened as the shorter boy sang along as they drove to God only knows where. He silently prayed Kurt wasn't taking him to some weird plastic surgeon or something.

By the time they pulled into Walgreens, Puck was thoroughly confused. Kurt wasn't planning to buy him an eye patch or something, was he? He was pretty damn sexy, but he wasn't too sure if he could make an eye patch look cool… unless he had a matching pirate costume to go with it. It was only November, but Puck was certain he had next year's Halloween costume planned out. He would make a hott pirate that was for sure. Now all he needed was some booty to go with his costume. He checked out Kurt from behind as they entered the store; yep that booty would do well with his costume.

Lost in his thoughts, Puck followed Kurt without paying attention to where they were going. Taking a second to gather his surroundings, he mentally kicked himself for not realizing this was coming.

"Hell no, Kurt, I am NOT wearing makeup." He crossed his arms in defiance, pulling himself up to his full height to stare down the shorter boy.

Kurt, however, was unaffected by his macho stance and just snorted in reply.

Pulling an item from the shelf, Kurt held the offensive item up next to his face, muttering things under his breath that Puck couldn't understand.

"Yes, this one will suffice," Kurt said louder, as he made his way to the checkout counter.

"Are you deaf? I'm not putting that goop on my face."

Kurt turned around so fast, Puck almost ran into him.

"And why is that?"

Puck paused, trying to think of an answer that wouldn't offend Kurt. Of course, he was the kind of person who always said what was on their mind, no matter what the cost.

"Because I'm not a chick, that's why."

"I wear makeup, so are you saying I'm a girl?" Kurt argued, scrunching his eyebrows together.

Shit.

"Uh, no, whatever you do with your face is your own business. I don't want that stuff on my face, my skin is too perfect," Puck mumbled, looking down at the ground as he spoke.

"Yeah, because those bruises make your skin look so divine, right?"

"It'll clog my pores," Puck threw out, using a phrase he heard Quinn say one time when he suggested the Cheerios should paint their faces for a football game.

He watched Kurt smile in triumph.

"It's medicated; it'll only help your skin. Besides, it'll hide your bruises and no one will even know you have makeup on. I'm an artist when it comes to makeovers."

"God Damnit, fine you win. But I'm picking where we're going to eat." Puck crossed his arms tighter and silently followed Kurt to the register. He was becoming such a pussy lately. First he'd gotten his ass kicked today by three inferiors, and now he was wearing makeup to cover evidence of said ass kicking. What the fuck was wrong with him.

Kurt paid for the item and led Puck back to his car. After opening the product, Kurt turned to face him while holding some fluffy white circular thing in his hand.

"I'm going to use this pad," Kurt indicated the white thing in his hand, "and spread the concealer on your face. Close your eyes and don't move, and it'll be over before you know it."

"Can't we wait until right before the concert?" Puck looked wildly around, trying to find something to stall the offensive material from going on his face. "Plus that way it'll be fresh!" Puck exclaimed, after seeing a sign for fresh subs.

Kurt paused, obviously thinking over Puck's statement.

"Nah, we can just reapply it. I'm not going to be seen in public with you looking like that anyways."

Puck pulled down the visor, flipping open the mirror to check his face out again. He wouldn't admit it, but he could tell his bruises were darkening.

"It's kind of embarrassing, anyways, walking around with someone who got their ass kicked," Kurt added, smirking.

Puck glared but closed his eyes nonetheless.

"If you tell anyone about this Hummel, I swear it'll be the last thing you ever do."

He tried not to breathe in Kurt's scent as the boy moved closer to apply the gunk to his face.

Kurt quickly, but gently, moved the pad over his face, murmuring encouraging words as he did so.

"See, all done," Kurt exclaimed, flipping down the visor mirror once more for Puck to examine. The bruise was completely covered, and he secretly admired how smooth and flawless his skin looked.

"Once again, if you tell anyone about this, not only will I kill you, but I'll make sure you they bury you in the clothes the old homeless guy by the lake always wears."

Puck laughed loudly at the offended expression on Kurt's face. He was just too cute.

"I won't tell anyone, scouts honor." Kurt added a mock salute to his statement.

"You were a boy scout? Puck questioned, trying to picture a little fashionable Kurt camping in a tent in the middle of the woods. He just couldn't do it.

"For about a week," he answered, turning on his car. "That is, until they handed out the uniforms. Light brown just really isn't my color. Now, where to, Mr. Puckerman?"

Puck gave him directions, ensuring him they weren't going to Breadsticks ("Way too many carbs for meals so small! Plus Brittany said she found a mouse in her dinner once.")

They arrived at a small diner, hidden behind a group of trees. The restaurant was painted in calming light blues and greens, decorated to look like a little place you would find in a forest. The fountains in the middle of the restaurant provided a relaxing sound, supplemented by the hymns playing over the sound system.

The two boys sat in a corner booth and waited for a waitress to take their order.

"This is nice, Puck," Kurt complimented, opening the menu to find something he wanted to eat.

"My mom used to take me here after I had a bad day. It has the best food in all of Lima-"

A tall, blonde waitress in her fifties came over to their table before he could finish.

"Noah Puckerman, is that you?" the waitress exclaimed, leaning down to give him a hug.

"Hey, Judy, this is my friend Kurt," he smiled, indicating Kurt sitting across from him.

Judy eyed Kurt, before smiling warmly at him.

"I'm glad you finally found a friend who has a refined sense of taste, instead of those obnoxious meatheads you used to hang out with."

Kurt beamed at her words.

"It's nice to meet you miss," Kurt greeted.

"Oh please, just call me Judy. All that miss and misses stuff makes me feel old. Now what can I get for my favorite customer today?"

The two placed their orders (hamburger and fries for Puck, with a large chocolate milkshake, and a Cesar salad with grilled chicken and water for Kurt) and began to work on their Glee assignment.

Puck decided to ask Kurt questions first.

"Full name?" Puck began.

"Kurt James Hummel," he answered, taking a sip of the water Judy had just brought over.

"Likes?"

"Uh, I don't know, I like a lot of things," Kurt replied, honestly. "Fashion, musicals, dancing, long walks on the beach, stars, and otters."

"Otters?" Puck remarked, laughing, "That's really random."

"I saw this trainer at a zoo once taunting an otter. He would hold the fish close to the otter's mouth, and then pull it away as the animal tried to grab it. Eventually the otter got pissed off and bit the guy's hand, causing him to get fifteen stitches. I've been a huge fan of otters ever since," Kurt explained.

Before Puck could comment on Kurt's story, Judy brought their food over to their table. The two boys thanked her and ate their meals in silence.

Kurt finished first (he was definitely a faster eater than Puck would have expected) and was currently eyeing Puck's fries. Puck decided to be nice and pushed his plate of fries towards Kurt. He wasn't usually one to share food, even with his little sister, but Kurt was a different story. The smaller boy could do with a few extra calories in his opinion.

"Thanks." Kurt heartily dug into the plate of fries as Puck finished his rather large hamburger.

"So, when did you start going by the name 'Puck'?" Kurt asked in between his bites of fries.

"In seventh grade, there was another kid in my class named Noah. My teacher would always mix us up, even though we totally didn't look alike. I decided I'd rather go by another name then be confused with someone as weird as that kid. You can't really get a nickname from 'Noah' and 'Puckerman' was just too long, so Finn ironically enough came up with Puck."

Kurt nodded his head in understanding.

"I think I'm going to start calling you 'Noah' now," Kurt supplied, "Puck just sounds ridiculous."

"You can call me whatever you want."

Puck mentally beat himself at how lame he sounded. The other boy just smirked in his direction, no doubt thinking of all the names he would call Puck if he wanted to.

"Do you have any nicknames, Kurt?"

"Besides fag and queer, no not really," Kurt admitted truthfully.

Puck hung his head in shame, realizing he'd been one of the bullies who had called Kurt those types of names so often in high school.

"Well, I'll have to just find one that works for you," Puck declared, as he reached for one of the fries.

Their fingers brushed together, causing an electric shock to pass through both of the boys.

"Um what kind of things do you like?" Kurt questioned in an attempt to move past the awkwardness.

"I like pancakes, football, playing my guitar, destroying dweebs on Xbox Live," he paused, considering his next words.

"And I like you."

* * *

A/N: A nice long chapter since I took longer than anticipated to update!

I'd appreciate knowing what you guys think so far. Also, if you haven't already, check out my other Puck/Kurt story, "Don't Tell Me What to Do" that is currently in progress.

Hope everyone's been enjoying the World Cup! Brazil is the only team left that I want to win :)

Review!


	9. Chapter 9

"And I like you."

Kurt heard the words come out of Noah's mouth, but he couldn't comprehend what the boy was saying. He definitely must have heard wrong, because there was no way in Gucci that Noah just said what he thought he said.

So Kurt gracefully asked Noah to repeat himself.

"Uh, what?"

"Look, I know it seems hard to believe. But I really have feelings for you, and I have since freshman year," Noah whispered, looking Kurt directly in the eye.

"But…how?" Kurt stuttered back, completely lost in his thoughts.

He knew he should be praising Prada right now that Noah had just said he liked him. He knew he should accept it, suggest they go out, and move on with the bet. It didn't matter if it was some joke. After all, that seemed to be the loop hole in the bet. All he had to do was get Noah to publically display his affection for him, and then Kurt would be basking in glory. Mercedes would never know if Noah's feelings were genuine or not, and for Kurt, it didn't really matter. All he wanted to do was win. He'd figure out where to go next after he was done picking out Mercede's outfits for the rest of the year.

But Kurt was just too confused. He'd barely started his seduction plan, so that couldn't have changed Noah s feelings for him. It's not like he'd ever been close with Noah … hell, one of the most stable things in his life was that Noah always found a way to pick on him.

Sure, he'd been acting differently lately, at least that's how Mercedes saw it. Kurt could just hear his best friend rubbing it in his face. "White boy, I told you he liked you, don't ever doubt me because I know what's up."

Mercedes… he smelled something fishy in all this. He was not one to believe in coincidences.

"Did Mercedes put you up to this?" Kurt questioned, cutting off whatever Noah had been saying.

Now it was the jock's turn to look confused.

"Um, excuse me?"

Kurt leaned back in his chair, giving him a better view of the boy, allowing him to be a more effective judge on Noah's sincerity.

He just couldn't believe Mercedes would tell Noah to ask him out! She must be totally desperate if she was to stoop this low.

"Did she?"

"No, no one put me up to anything" Noah gave him an odd look. "My feelings for you are real Kurt. How can I make you believe me? I know I've done wrong by you for so long but I just want to make everything better. I know I can't fix what's in the past, but I can make the future better. A future for us… like, you know, together." Noah ended his speech, a blush rising to his cheeks as he moved a remaining French fry aimlessly around his plate.

Kurt couldn't help but "Aw" at Noah's words, especially since he couldn't find any sort of falsity in the statement. He mentally apologized to Mercedes for doubting her integrity.

"Please, Kurt, just tell me what I can do to make you trust me."

Kurt swore he was getting the puppy dog eyes from Noah. He was always a sucker for those, especially Tina's. The gothic girl gave them to him every time he tried to suggest a change in her look, claiming "this is my way of expressing myself without words like you and Rachel do." Ugh, he fell for it every time.

And here was Noah, feeding right into the plan he'd barely put into action. He wanted just to say "Yes, I like you to, let's date and tell the whole school tomorrow," but something was holding him back. It was just too easy.

Kurt decided he needed to test the waters before he would convince Noah that their relationship should be public. If Noah does want a boyfriend, then Kurt would suggest they don't tell anyone, keeping it a secret for just a bit longer. The extra time would allow Kurt to decide if this was for real or if he was totally missing something.

Plus, if he admitted it to himself, he was just a bit nervous. He'd never had a boyfriend before, and even if it was a totally fake relationship (at least on his part), he'd still have to make it seem as real as possible. Kurt pictured himself cuddling with the jock as they watched old movies on his couch, sharing little kisses as they walked down the school halls, and holding hands every where they went. He felt his heart flutter at the thought.

Kurt cursed his hormones. He could not start crushing on Noah Puckerman.

* * *

Noah felt a vast array of emotions after finally telling Kurt he liked him.

He felt relieved at first, glad that his feelings were out in the open.

But then as he waited for what seemed like hours for Kurt's reaction, he'd started to feel seriously nervous. Not the kind of nervous where you're about to go on stage to perform, but the kind where you just tossed up what could possibly be the winning shot in the championship basketball game, and you had to wait for what seemed like forever for it to go in the basket…or to bounce helplessly off the backboard.

Noah glanced up at the smaller boy through his dark lashes, trying to figure out what was going on in Kurt's mind. He seemed frozen to the spot, except for his left hand that was flittering with the silver bracelet he always wore.

"Uh, what?" Kurt had finally muttered out.

'_Oh Jesus, did he not hear what I said_?' Noah thought to himself. He seriously doubted if he could get up the courage to say it a second time.

Noah had done his best to assure Kurt that he was serious about liking him as they talked in the diner. He understood why the soprano was unsure. He really hadn't given the boy any inkling of his feelings for the longest time, and had in fact thoroughly convinced Kurt that he disliked him. It'd be like if Karofsky came up Noah and told him he was madly in love with him. Noah was fairly sure he'd kick the guy in the balls, step on his face, and then walk away as if nothing happened.

Maybe proposing something dramatic would help influence Kurt's opinion on the matter? He'd give anything a shot to make Kurt his.

"I'll sing a song in front of the entire song professing my feelings for you. In the cafeteria at lunch or during the next pep rally, I'll sing wherever the entire school will be."

Kurt, who had remained mostly unmoving, suddenly fluttered to life.

"Oh, no, um yeah that's okay, I totally believe you, no need to put on a show or anything," Kurt insisted, not meeting Noah's eyes.

For some reason Noah doubted this, but he couldn't come up with a reason as to why Kurt would lie to him. The fashionista was always honest and never held back anything, so why would he now?

"Why'd you think Mercedes was behind me telling you I like you?" Noah questioned, genuinely curious as to why Kurt would think his best friend would pull such a prank on him.

"Oh you know, she's been intent on getting me back after I told her Drake married Miley Cyrus. I even used photo shop to make it look like they were kissing. I really just wanted to see her face after the news; it was so worth the paranoia I feel now every time something unexpected happens."

Noah chuckled at the image of the diva finding out Kurt had completely made up the story of her favorite singer marrying one of her least favorite performers.

"So, uh yeah, what are you thinking about?"

Damn, he was seriously becoming a pussy. He knew he should just come out and say, "Do you like me too?" (But way smoother of course) yet he just couldn't bring himself to say it. He didn't know what he would do if Kurt rejected him.

"I like you too."

Holy shit.

"Really?" Noah just couldn't believe it. He was finally going to be with the boy of his dreams.

"Yeah, really." Kurt smiled at him, reaching across the table to grab Noah's hand.

Their hands fit perfectly together, his larger and tan, with Kurt's small and pale.

"I let people think I like Finn so they wouldn't sense my feelings for you," Kurt explained, running his thumb along Noah's skin. He had to suppress a shiver. This was just too perfect.

"So you never liked Finn?"

"I did at first, I suppose, but now he's just like a brother to me-"

Kurt was interrupted by Judy coming over to clear their plates.

The two boys pulled their hands apart, blushes rising to their cheeks. Noah wasn't used to being out in the open with another boy, but it was reassuring to have the older woman practically beaming at him. He knew it would take some getting used to once Lima found out he was gay, or at least that he was bisexual and had a boyfriend, but it was a challenge he was willing and ready to face.

Noah paid for their meal (stopping Kurt from pulling out his wallet with a steely glare) and headed out the door after waving goodbye to Judy. He held the door open at Kurt, heart swelling when the other boy gave him a tentative smile as he exited the restaurant.

Kurt glanced at his watch, pointing out to Noah that they still had over an hour and a half before Sarah's concert.

"Is there anywhere you want to go?" Noah gently grabbed Kurt's hand as they walked to the Navigator, relishing in how good it felt to touch the soprano.

"I know the perfect place," Kurt dropped his hand as they reached the car. The two boys slid into their seats, and Noah waited patiently for Kurt to tell him where they were going.

He waited for a minute before he got frustrated.

"Where are we going?" Noah asked, unable to take the silence any longer.

Kurt smirked, remaining silent.

"Kurttt," Noah whined, sticking out his lower lip like he taught his little sister to do once Kurt looked over at him.

The former kicker rolled his eyes, mostly out of amusement.

"It's a surprise Noah. You'll just have to wait and see."

"I don't really like surprises." Pause. "You're kidnapping me aren't you? You're going to toss me in the river and drive away like nothing happened.

Kurt chuckled, and Noah had to laugh too. Not only was Kurt's laugh contagious, but the idea of the smaller boy trying to push or pick him up was just too ridiculous.

"That's exactly what I'm doing Noah, you caught me."

Before Noah could reply, they pulled into a parking spot. He'd been so engaged in talking to Kurt… well at least trying to make Kurt talk… that he hadn't even noticed they arrived.

Noah found himself in a park he'd never been to before. There were more trees that he could count, but a wide open space in the middle filled with two playgrounds, multiple benches, a barbeque pit, and a pavilion.

The park was mostly empty, except for a family of four having a barbeque dinner in the pavilion.

Noah followed Kurt to the swings, stopping in front of Kurt as the smaller boy sat down.

"Do you need me to push you, princess?" Noah flexed his arms, ignoring the way the mom in the pavilion kept staring at him.

Kurt rolled his eyes again, this time in mock annoyance.

"First off, Puckerman, do not call me a princess. I prefer queen, thank you very much. And secondly, I'm a big boy, so I think I can push myself." Kurt paused at Noah's tiny frown. "But thank you, I appreciate the offer."

Noah pretended to observe his surroundings, moving out of the way as Kurt began to swing.

"Are you going to swing with me or just stand there?" Kurt asked, swinging so high the swing set shook.

"Uh…"

Kurt slowed to a stop, looking between Noah and the empty swing.

"Oh my god, you can't fit on it can you?" Kurt began laughing so hard he almost fell off the swing.

Noah stood there silently, glaring at the younger boy.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry for laughing at you," Kurt paused to regain his breath. "I didn't realize when I started swinging that you'd be too… big to use the swing."

Noah didn't respond and stalked over to the nearest tree, plopping down on the ground and wrapping his arms around his knees as he pulled them to his chest.

He heard Kurt follow quietly behind him, but didn't move as Kurt sat down next to him.

"Noah?" Kurt quietly said, resting his hand on Noah's shoulder. "I'm sorry if I upset you."

"I can't believe you insinuated that I was fat." He couldn't hide the small smirk from overtaking his lips, and started laughing as Kurt playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"I seriously thought you were mad at me, you jerk. No one would ever mistake you for being fat." Kurt leaned his back against the tree, scooting close to Noah so that the tree supported his entire frame.

"So where are we?" Noah broke the companionable silence, stretching his legs out and turning his head to look at Kurt.

"This beautiful place is calling Mystic Park, just on the outskirts of Lima. My mom used to take me here when I was little. I started coming here again freshman year, just to sit and think. I figured we could talk and stuff."

"I like it, it just smells so… fresh," Noah replied honestly.

"I think what you're smelling is your cologne." Kurt leaned closer to Noah, sniffing at his shirt. "Oh my god, what are you wearing? It's intoxicating."

"A real man never reveals his secrets," Noah confidently exclaimed.

"So is it just you, your mom, and Sarah?" Kurt questioned, ready to continue their Glee assignment.

"Yeah, my dad used to always be gone, out trying to be a rock star ya know? Eventually my mom said screw this and divorced his lazy ass."

"Have you seen or heard from him since?" Kurt mimicked Noah's position, stretching his legs out alongside the other boy's. He attempted to ignore how much farther Noah's legs went out than his.

"Nope, not unless you count the occasional birthday or Christmas card."

"I'm sorry, Noah. That really sucks."

Noah shrugged his shoulders. He was used to it by now and figured he was probably better off without him anyways. His mom had been an amazing single parent and in his opinion, she didn't need any help. Noah felt like he'd probably die if his mom started dating again, like Kurt and Finn's parents had. That'd just be too strange for him to bear.

"Can I ask you something?" Noah hoped his next question wouldn't offend Kurt, but he really wanted to change the subject.

"Shoot."

"Why did you have that book about seducing straight boys if you don't like Finn?" Noah felt nervous about asking the question he'd be wondering about ever since Kurt stated he didn't like Finn anymore. He wasn't sure if he wanted the answer; a part of him believed Kurt had always had a thing for Finn, despite what the shorter boy said.

"Noah, really, you haven't figured it out yet?" Kurt chastised. Noah shook his head no, slightly embarrassed that he'd clearly been missing something. Kurt rolled his eyes, "It was for you."

Noah stared at him, not comprehending what was going on.

"So let me get this straight. You bought this book to try and seduce me?"

"Precisely."

"Which is why you didn't want me to see the book, so you hid it behind your back?"

"Yep and I felt extremely uncomfortable when you saw the title," Kurt remembered, letting out a low laugh.

"Well, Kurt Hummel, you should know by now, no one seduces Puckzilla. I'm the seducer, not the seducee. "

"Oh, yes, well I clearly forgot that now didn't I?-"

The two were interrupted when the mother from the pavilion stood in front of them. Noah had been so absorbed in their conversation, he hadn't noticed her approaching.

"Hi, I'm sorry to bother you two, but I was wondering if you could help me open this jar?"

The woman held an unopened mayonnaise jar in her hand, a flirtatious smile on her overly tan face.

"Uh, sure," Noah answered.

The woman slowly bent down, making sure her huge (and most likely fake) breasts were clearly visible for the football player.

Noah glanced quickly over to Kurt, who looked like he was trying really hard not to say something rude and then over to the pavilion where the woman's husband was speaking on his cell phone.

He easily opened the jar and handed it back to her, slightly grossed out about how she was throwing herself at him when her husband and kids were only ten yards away. He seriously couldn't believe he used to go for this kind of woman. It made him feel kind of dirty, but it was definitely reassuring to finally have found his way with the innocent and pure Kurt Hummel by his side.

"So you go to McKinley?" she asked, blinking her eyes at Noah in what he guessed she assumed was a sexy way.

"Yes we do," Kurt answered for him, despite the fact that she had her back turned slightly away from him, "We're only sixteen though… you know, underage and illegal and all that. It's quite unfortunate really, but what can you do?"

The woman turned to face him, slightly shocked at his outburst, but Kurt cut her off before she could reply.

"Isn't that right, babe?" Kurt purred, leaning over and placing a kiss on Noah's cheek, as he threaded his fingers through the other boy's.

"Oh I see, well thank you for your help. Stay in school and all that."

She turned and hurriedly walked away, leaving an amused Noah and a huffing Kurt in her wake.

"What was that for?" Noah asked once the cougar was out of ear shot, though a big smile crossed his face.

"Just making sure she knows your mine." Kurt shrugged his shoulders, acting like what he'd done hadn't been out of the ordinary at all.

"Ooh, the jealous type," Noah laughed, definitely surprised that Kurt was so possessive. "That's kind sexy on you Hummel."

Ignoring Noah's remarks, Kurt noticed they only had thirty minutes to get to Sarah's concert, which was at least a fifteen minute drive away.

Standing up first, Noah pulled Kurt to his feet, keeping their hands tightly locked together as they walked to the soprano's car.

They sang along to songs on the radio as they drove to the school, Noah directing Kurt where to park when they arrived.

"We are totally under dressed," Kurt observed dejectedly as they walked into the cafeteria, the location of the concert because it was the biggest building in the school.

"I'm more under dressed than you, at least you're wearing a nice shirt," Noah countered, tugging the boy closer to him. They were still holding hands, despite the shocked and somewhat outraged looks of the parents they passed.

Noah really didn't give a damn what any of them thought, it was none of their business anyways. Though, he did laugh to himself when he passed Mrs. Hale, one of the cougar moms he banged after she hired him to clean her pool. The older woman look so scandalized, Noah almost pointed it out to Kurt.

Noah guided the younger boy to the seats his mom and Quinn had saved for them. He'd told her the night before he would bringing a friend from school with him, stressing that no, it was not Finn. (He swore the woman would have a boner for his ex friend if she physically could. She absolutely worshipped the quarterback.)

He gave her credit for hiding her surprise well when he approached the two women holding Kurt's hand tightly in his own. He was really nervous for his mom to meet Kurt. Noah had never told her he was gay, and he hadn't given too much thought to how she'd react, though his imagination never led him to a positive reaction. He'd never admit that he was too much of a pansy to tell her in private; he opted for a more public place to tell his secret, hopefully blocking any possible outburst she could throw his way.

"You must be the friend Noah told me about last night." Nora smiled warmly at Kurt, extending her hand for the boy to shake.

Kurt shook her hand, giving the woman a small smile in return. Noah could sense his nervousness, especially as the boy tightened the grip on his hand. He tried to reassure Kurt, giving him a small squeeze for comfort, despite the fact that he was even more nervous than Kurt could possibly be.

Quinn let out a tiny cough that only Noah seemed to hear. Kurt had easily absorbed his mom into a conversation about the outfit she was wearing, the smaller boy simply gushing over how perfect the ensemble was.

"Can I help you with something, Quinny?" Noah sat down next to his baby's mama who was looking stunning in a simple yellow short sleeved dress.

"It's about damn time you and Kurt got together." Quinn laughed lightly at Noah's stunned expression. He realized he'd probably been acting different lately, but he had no idea how she picked up on his feelings.

"You do know that you talk in your sleep, right?" He blinked a few times in response, completely speechless and now somewhat embarrassed. "I guess you don't know that then. Well, those nights that I fell asleep in your room when we were talking, you'd constantly wake me up by all the things you mumbled."

"What else did you hear?" he demanded, mortified at what she could have heard from his sleeping form. He knew he had some pretty vivid dreams, many of them being quite dirty.

"Relax, Noah, you really just said 'Kurt' a lot," she paused, trying to remember what else he said, "Oh and you seem to have an obsession with whip cream and chocolate."

He smirked, recalling several different dreams in which the two food items came in handy.

Their conversation ended when the stage's curtain opened. Quinn sat at the end, followed by Kurt, Noah, and his mom. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Quinn whispered something in Kurt's ear, causing the other boy to turn a brilliant shade of red as he gently slapped her hand. Quinn giggled, as she linked her arm through Kurt's. He was glad the two got a long well, because he knew just how bitchy Quinn could be if she didn't like someone.

* * *

Kurt sat next to Quinn and Noah, enthralled by the choir in front of him. For third graders, they were pretty damn good.

Sarah stole the show, absolutely glowing as she belted out a Thanksgiving song that Kurt was unfamiliar with. He was also amazed at the fashion sense the younger girl had, a gift she clearly inherited from Mrs. Puckerman. Kurt was fairly certain Noah's mom would be considered a MILF by straight guys.

Sarah was wearing a simple black dress with ruffles flowing on the bottom. The dress was sleeveless and beautifully accented with his white Alexander McQueen scarf. Her sandals were strapless with small heels, a daring move for someone so young. Kurt studied the shoes the other girls were wearing and smugly noted all of their shoes were flat. He was beyond proud of the mini fashionista, even before she began to sing.

And damn could she sing! He wouldn't tell Noah, but the little girl reminded him of a young Rachel Berry (though more fashionable, and minus the crazy.)

Kurt could barely fathom at the way his life had just shifted. He had felt beyond jealous when that skanky cougar mom had tried to hit on Noah, who just so happened to be _his. _He even shocked himself at how bitchy and possessive he was acting, but something about the way the lady had walked up to them had pissed him off from the start. He'd seen her coming out of the corner of his eye but didn't move to acknowledge her trek towards them. He knew the minute she got up from the picnic bench that she was coming to flirt with Noah, because hell, who wouldn't? He'd admit, the jock was beyond attractive. Spending so much time with Noah recently had convinced him of that.

But the way the woman had ignored him had sent him over the edge! How dare she flirt with Noah when Kurt was sitting right there! Wasn't it obvious they were together, especially considering how close together they were sitting and the way their legs just so casually touched one another's?

He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. No need to start a rant in the middle of an elementary school concert… that would be kind of awkward.

The audience stood and clapped, shaking Kurt out of his mental tirade against the woman. Before they could begin to move from their seats, the chorus teacher walked up to the microphone.

"That ladies and gentleman, was our McKinley Elementary show choir!"

She was interrupted by the audience applauding again, while several fathers whistled loudly.

"We actually have a little treat for you. Our very own Sarah Puckerman has agreed to sing a solo."

The group of four glanced back and forth between one another, silently communicating that they had no clue what was going on.

"Damn, she finally kept a secret from us," Noah had whispered to his mom.

"Don't say that, now it makes me wonder what else she could be hiding," his mom had quietly answered back.

Kurt smiled, slightly anxious to see what song Sarah would perform.

She walked up to the microphone, her chorus teacher giving her an encouraging pat on the back. Though to Kurt, the teacher looked way more nervous than Sarah did. He definitely got the Rachel Berry vibe from her. This girl was going to make it big one day.

"Hi, my name is Sarah Puckerman. In honor of Thanksgiving, Mrs. O'Malley has agreed to let me dedicate a special song to my big brother Noah, who picks me up every time I'm down. It's called 'You Raise Me Up. I love you Noah and I'm very thankful to be blessed with such an amazing brother.'"

Kurt immediately recognized the hit song by Josh Groban as soon as the orchestra began to play, drowning out the chorus of "Awww" and "Oh my gosh, she's so precious!" by the audience members.

Sarah's performance was beyond anything Kurt could even imagine. The little girl sung perfectly, hitting each note with emotion evident in her voice.

When she finished, the entire audience launched into a standing ovation. Noah applauded by far the loudest, and Kurt would swear to this day he saw the muscular jock wipe a tear from his eye.

The audience began filing out to the door after the children bowed multiple times. Kurt grabbed Noah's hand; he could tell the other boy was overwhelmed with emotion, despite his attempt to set his face into a neutral expression.

They waited outside the chorus room for Sarah to say goodbye to her choir friends. Kurt noticed that one of the little boys had given Noah's sister a bouquet of flowers. He couldn't help but smirk; Sarah looked like she was on her way to being just as much of a heart breaker as Noah was, though it would probably be unintentional.

Kurt stood next to Noah as he praised his little sister, picking her up as they walked to the parking lot.

"You were amazing sweetie, absolutely stole the show. I have never been more proud of you." Noah placed several kisses on her forehead, causing the little girl to squeal. Kurt was pretty sure he heard her mutter, "So embarrassing, I can't take him anywhere."

Quinn and Mrs. Puckerman had shared a small smile with Kurt as Noah pointedly ignored her remark.

"Noah?"

"Yes, gorgeous?"

"I can't breathe."

"Oh my bad," he chuckled, gently putting the girl back on the ground, who immediately ran over to Quinn to gossip about all the things that happened back stage.

They arrived at Mrs. Puckerman's car. It was decided that Noah would ride home with Kurt, while the other three went to get celebratory ice cream.

Sliding into his Navigator, Kurt realized he didn't want to go home just yet.

"Do you mind if we just sit here and talk?" Kurt shyly asked.

"Yeah that's fine," Noah agreed, turning to face him. "What do you want to talk about?"

They ended up talking in the parking lot for over an hour. Their topics ranged from sports (they both happened to like watching soccer) to Glee (Noah was the one to mention Sarah had the same stage presence as Rachel Berry) to food (they both hated cantaloupe) and many other things.

Noah was the one to realize how late it was, and they agreed they should head home before their parents started to worry.

Kurt, being the gentleman that he is, walked Noah to his door when they arrived. He knew it was what the "man" in the relationship would do, but hey, since they were both boys, they could mix up the stereotypes whichever way they chose.

"So, um," Noah nervously began, running his foot back and forth over the welcome mat as they stood in front of his door. "Are we like, an official couple now?"

Kurt paused, debating on what to say. He decided actions meant more than words.

Standing on his tip toes, Kurt wrapped his arms around Noah's neck, pulling him down to place a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Is that a good enough answer for you, Mr. Puckerman?" Kurt teased, moving his arms down to slowly rub them up and down Noah's bulging biceps. Damn, he didn't think he'd ever get used to how sexy Noah is.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard what you said Mr. Hummel. I think you'll have to tell me again."

Kurt could feel Noah's smirk against his own lips, as the two boys shared several small kisses on the Puckerman porch.

"Ew, Noah, what are you doing?"

Sarah interrupted their moment, causing Kurt to jump back away from Noah, allowing a respectable distance to remain between the two.

"Nothing squirt, go get ready for bed." Noah put his hand on his sister's head, trying to guide her back into the house. The little girl ducked under his arm, running outside to stand behind Kurt.

Wrapping her arms around Kurt's waist, Sarah peaked her head out from around his back.

"Even though he's my brother, I have to be honest with you," she took a deep breath in an attempt to make the moment dramatic, "Noah has cooties!"

Kurt immediately burst out into laughter, doubling over as he saw Noah's indignant expression.

He watched his boyfriend fold his arms across his chest, a scowl firmly in place on his face, and Kurt swore he heard Noah mutter, "I do not have cooties."

Regaining his composure, Kurt patted Sarah on her head, assuring the little girl that he was up to date on his cootie shots and that she need not worry.

"Thank you for caring about me though."

"Uh huh," Sarah let out, in between a wide yawn.

"Okay munchkin, you need to get back in bed before Momma comes out and yells at you," Noah instructed, picking up his little sister. The young girl wrapped her legs around his waist, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Will you sing me a song before I go to sleep?" she whispered in his ear, just loud enough for Kurt to hear.

"Of course, Sarah."

Noah turned to Kurt, giving him a small smile.

"Good night Kurt, I had fun today," he quietly told the other boy.

Kurt returned the smile, giving both Noah and Sarah light kisses on their cheeks.

"Me too, I'll see you tomorrow."

Kurt walked slowly to his car, too amazed at how perfect it felt to finally be in a relationship with Noah Puckerman. At first, when he told Noah he liked him too, it'd been mostly a lie. But now, he was starting to realize he could really enjoy being Noah's boyfriend.

Remembering his decision from earlier in the night, Kurt decided he'd wait to tell Noah tomorrow that he wanted their relationship to remain as secret as possible. He silently prayed Noah accepted this and that Quinn hadn't told anyone yet.

* * *

A/N: That chapter was a lot easier to write then I thought it would be!

Review please :)


	10. Chapter 10

Waking up the next morning, Kurt was fairly certain he'd completely dreamed last night. There was no way he was now currently dating Noah Puckerman.

Grabbing his phone to turn his alarm off, Kurt was stunned to see he had a text from a "Puckzilla."

Remembering how he had let Noah type his number into his phone, Kurt made a mental note to type in people's numbers instead of letting them do it themselves.

Flipping open his phone, Kurt froze in horror at the message from Noah.

"Good morning, babe. Hope you're ready to become McKinley's most powerful couple today "

Kurt tried to think of an excuse as to why he'd want Noah to keep their relationship a secret. He didn't think the football player would approve of, "I think we should hide our feelings for each other because I'm only dating you to win a bet and I kind of feel bad about it."

Perhaps the other boy would agree to stay in the dark to protect his reputation. If it was Finn, Kurt knew he'd totally be able to play that card, but his gut was telling him Noah didn't give two shits about his reputation anymore, as long as people still thought he was a badass.

Kurt laid in bed as he brainstormed ideas. His stomach growled loudly, telling him he was in need of his morning fruit smoothie and low fat bagel. Thinking of food, Kurt suddenly had an idea. Texting Noah back a quick, "Let's skip Spanish and I'll make you breakfast?" he jumped into the shower, praying the older boy would go along with his plan.

Smiling to himself after the jock agreed, Kurt continued getting ready after texting Noah his address.

An hour later, just as he finished putting the final touches on his hair, Noah knocked on the front door. Walking up the basement stairs, Kurt rushed to the door and opened it. The boy had impeccable timing; two minutes earlier and he would have arrived at the same time Finn had left. That would have been extremely awkward and tense.

Noah stood on his porch, wearing a pair of dark wash jeans, a black fitted ACDC shirt, and a leather jacket over it. Kurt had to admit the jock projected an image of a total badass. He laughed to himself at what his peers would say if they knew just how incorrect that image was. Not only was he gay, but Noah seemed to be completely whipped by an eight year old girl.

"Hey beautiful." Kurt blushed at Noah's compliment, opening the door wider to allow the jock to enter.

Noah placed a soft kiss on Kurt's cheek, intensifying Kurt's blush. He really could get used to this kind of treatment.

Kurt stood behind the older boy as he helped him take off his coat, using all the time he had to check out the way Noah's muscles rippled through his shirt as he moved. Kurt practically had to stop himself from drooling.

"Is there anything specific you want me to make for you? We have bacon, sausage, eggs, toast, and bagels," Kurt asked as Noah put his backpack on the floor by the door.

Noah shrugged. "I'm not really a picky eater. Plus I'm sure anything you make is delicious, princess."

Kurt rolled his eyes as he walked into the kitchen.

"I told you, I prefer Queen. It's much more suitable to my standards." Kurt began cracking several eggs in a bowl, adding in a bit of milk and pepper for extra flavor. He was glad his dad had left early to go to the shop and wouldn't be home until right before dinner. He knew the older man wouldn't approve of him skipping school, especially if it involved spending extra time with a boy who used to bully him.

"Queen doesn't roll off the tongue like princess does, sorry dear," Puck commented, sitting down at the kitchen table to watch Kurt cook.

"Well, fine then. I'll just have to come up with a little nickname for you. Preferably something really embarrassing."

Noah scoffed. "I am a stud. I don't get embarrassed."

"I highly doubt that, Mr. Puckerman. What if I told the whole school that your eight year old sister had you absolutely and undoubtedly wrapped around her little finger?

Not hearing a response from Noah, Kurt continued to cook breakfast, feeling a bit smug that he had rendered the other boy speechless.

He jumped in surprise when he felt a pair of strong arms wrap around his waist. Noah nuzzled his face into Kurt's neck, mumbling something Kurt couldn't quite hear.

"Mmm, what was that?" Kurt asked, moving his neck to the right to give Noah better access.

Noah trailed kisses up Kurt's neck before stopping to nibble on his ear.

"No one would believe you," he paused, letting his breath tickle Kurt's ear, "Princess."

At Noah's last word, Kurt laughed, pushing the other boy away from him.

"You better let me finish cooking in peace unless you want to eat burnt eggs and sausage for breakfast."

"That sounds tasty." Noah grabbed the bread that Kurt had set on the counter and began making French toast. Kurt was impressed by the way Noah started cooking without an order to do so; Finn never offered to help cook. He always sat on the couch while Kurt slaved away in the kitchen with Carole.

Ten minutes later, the two sat down for their meal at the table. Kurt decided to try Noah's toast first, and was pleasantly surprised it tasted a hell of a lot better than he ever imagined.

"Who taught you to cook?" Kurt asked in between bites of toast.

"I taught myself over the years. My mom worked weird shifts sometimes, so I was the only one home to cook for myself and Sarah," Noah explained, eating his food way more properly then Finn did, Kurt noted. The quarterback practically inhaled his meals. It was a gruesome sight to behold.

Kurt nodded in understanding, and they lapsed into a comfortable silence as they finished their meal.

A loud buzzing noise interrupted their meal. Noah took his phone out of his pocket and laughed loudly at the text he just received.

"Figgins is trying to suspend Brittany for hatching a duck in her locker," Noah explained at Kurt's raised eyebrow.

"Again?" Kurt felt bad for the girl. He knew she meant well, but he seriously didn't understand why the cheerleader had such an attraction to raising birds in her locker.

"Yeah, apparently a janitor heard it quacking this morning before school. He opened it with a crowbar and found a duckling in there. They won't let Brittany keep it either, said it needed to be kept in the wild."

"She must be devastated," Kurt commented, wondering if he should text her to see how she was doing.

"Quinn said Santana's on a rampage. She's trying to get Coach Sylvester to intervene."

"That is something I'm not too upset about missing." Kurt shuddered at the idea of getting in Coach's way. She may be a total bitch, but she wasn't one to tolerate things that made her prized Cheerios upset. Unless it involved being pregnant or some other condition that made one unable to cheer, but that was a different story.

Noah finished his meal and began piling the dishes into the sink.

"You don't have to do that, Noah. You're a guest here; I can do the dishes when I'm done."

"It's not a problem," Noah responded over the run of the water, "Besides, we don't want to be late for second period. We just need to avoid Ms. Sylvester."

Kurt frowned at this from his spot at the table. His first plan had worked perfectly. They had skipped part of the morning, but he really hadn't thought of what to do past that. It was awkward having this sort of "talk", considering the fact that he didn't know how Noah would react.

Making up his mind, Kurt stood up from the table and brought his plate over to the sink.

"You know, I don't really feel like going to school today. Can we just hang out here for the rest of the day?" Kurt questioned, trying to ignore the way Noah seemed to stiffen at his words.

"But don't you want to make our big debut as a couple today? I thought you would enjoy being the most talked about boy in school," Noah countered.

God damn, Noah was going to make this tough. Kurt was going to have to pull out all the stops if he wanted to keep their relationship secret.

He gently placed his hand on Noah's hip, guiding the other boy to turn and face him.

"Well you see," he purred in what he hoped was his most seductive voice, "I thought we could just spend some time together." He stepped closer to Noah so that their chests were touching, and looked up at the taller boy, "You know, just the two of us… Alone."

He mentally congratulated himself as he watched Noah's eyes darken with lust, and he knew he had won, at least temporarily.

"I had a feeling you wouldn't want to share me today," Noah boasted, softening his cocky words by lightly pushing Kurt's bangs away from his face, "So I brought something for us to do."

Kurt raised an eyebrow in curiosity as he watched Noah walk over to his backpack and pull out a large chunk of white mental.

"What the hell is that?" Kurt asked, praying it wasn't some sort of weird sex device Noah wanted to use on him. He tried to avoid hearing Noah's conquest stories he used to always share in the past, but he had gathered that the older boy was kind of kinky.

"Dude, you're kidding me right?" His jaw dropped at Kurt's blank expression. "This is an Xbox."

"Oh, I see," Kurt answered, wondering why Noah had stuffed the device in his bag. It's not like Kurt was actually interested in playing.

"And today I'm going to teach you how to play," Noah smirked at Kurt's amused expression.

He'd rather hang out with Rachel Berry all day than play mindless video games.

"Uh no, that's okay I think I'm good."

"I'll let you dress me in any outfit of your choice," Noah casually remarked, but added "Only in boys' clothes though," after seeing Kurt's excited expression.

"It's a deal Puckerman. But don't be surprised when I blow up your character," Kurt said, already planning the outfit Noah would look sexiest in. He didn't know much about playing video games, only what he heard on TV commercials or from various Neanderthals in the school hallways. He was just relieved this mini bet didn't require him to win; Noah would kick his ass any day…not that Kurt would ever admit such a thing.

"Where's your room?"

* * *

Noah had been a little disappointed that Kurt hadn't wanted to go to school today. He'd totally pictured the two of them striding into school, arms linked with sunglasses covering their faces (Aviators for him, some big designer chick glasses for Kurt) totally reveling in the shocked and scandalized faces of their peers.

He understood that Kurt was probably shy about coming out with him as his boyfriend. Their classmates were going to most likely harass them, wondering what kind of joke they were playing and how much money Kurt paid him to date the smaller boy (okay that might just be his ego talking there.)

He also recognized that Kurt would have to deal with Karofsky and his gang. In fact, the both of them would have to put up with the shit the hockey player always tried to deal out. Noah wasn't too worried about them; they'd only kicked his ass because it was three against one. But Noah could handle Karofsky one on one. The boy would be begging for mercy if he ever tried to hurt Kurt.

Noah had texted Kurt that morning, feeling like it was the type of thing good boyfriends do. He'd seen it on TV that girls just love waking up to texts from their man, so he figured Kurt probably would too. After reading that Kurt wanted him to skip their first period to eat breakfast together, Noah's intuition told him it wouldn't be the only class they'd miss that day.

Impulsively, he stuffed his Xbox into his backpack, deciding that Kurt needed some education on the finer things in life.

After a delicious breakfast, the two of them walked down the stairs of the basement to Kurt's room. Noah had dreamed of what Kurt's room would look like, and he was quite shocked at just how white the room was. There weren't any obnoxiously bright or girly colors like he'd expected.

"Doesn't Finn sleep in here too?" he blurted out after noticing there was only one bed. He'd seriously do some harm to Finn if the two of them shared a bed. He didn't think he could handle that.

"Uh, not anymore," Kurt answered shyly. "We kind of had an… argument, and he eventually moved up stairs after my dad cleared out a guest room."

Well that was interesting. Noah wondered what happened but could tell Kurt didn't really want to talk about it.

"If anyone ever does anything to hurt or bother you, just let me know and I'll kick their face in, okay Princess?" Puck turned around from plugging the Xbox into Kurt's TV to stare the other boy down.

"Yes, sir," Kurt mocked saluted, earning an eye roll from Noah.

"I'm serious, Kurt. No one messes with my boyfriend."

Noah walked up to Kurt and slid his fingers into Kurt's belt loop, tugging the boy closer.

"Hey, don't mess with the clothing, Puckzilla," Kurt mock scolded, laughing at Noah's surprised expression.

"I forgot I put that in your phone. It was either that, 'Puckasarus', or' Your Future Boyfriend'. I felt like Puckzilla was fitting and more mature than the boyfriend one."

"Oh, totally mature," Kurt replied sarcastically, giggling as Noah pushed him onto the bed.

Adjusting his position so his head rested on his pillow, Kurt pulled Noah on top of him, bringing the muscular jock in for their first real kiss.

Noah let Kurt set the pace of the kiss, completely turned on by how the soprano took control.

Entwining his arms around Noah's neck, Kurt held the boy close as he used his tongue to open the jock's lips. Noah submitted and their tongues fought for dominance.

Letting out a small moan, Kurt tugged at Noah's shirt, a sign that he wanted the jock to take it off. He readily obliged, straddling the soprano as he pulled the garment over his head. Noah made sure to take it off as slow as possible, teasing Kurt as he sexily rolled his hips, brushing their growing erections together and allowing the other boy to have a perfect view of his sculpted body.

Kurt roughly pulled Noah back down, attacking his neck with little bites as he made his way down to Noah's chest. Kurt tested Noah's nipple ring, gently tugging at it with his teeth before pulling harder as Noah's moans of approval increased.

Noah, not one to disappoint, easily grabbed Kurt's arms and held them over the boy's head with one of his hands. Kurt growled in protest and Noah smirked in response. Leaving a trail of kisses down Kurt's jaw line, he made his way down to the side of his neck, placing several kisses around one spot before biting down into Kurt's skin (but not enough to bleed, because Noah totally wasn't into that vampire shit.) Kurt moaned loudly, mumbling something that sounded a lot like "more" to Noah.

After letting go of Kurt's arms, the younger boy eagerly brought Noah in for another long kiss. While one hand cupped Noah's face, Kurt used his other hand to glide down Noah's toned stomach, stopping when he felt the waist band of the boy's jeans.

Noah was shocked out of his bliss as he realized that Kurt was trying to unbutton his pants. Without breaking the kiss, Noah grabbed Kurt's arm and guided it to wrap around his neck.

"What's wrong?" Kurt panted as he broke the kiss.

"Nothing is wrong; I'm just not ready to go that far." Noah explained calmly. He was beyond surprised that Kurt Hummel was trying to get in his pants; he would have bet that Kurt was more along the lines of a prude.

"You don't want to really be with me do you? This is just some kind of weird joke or experiment. Now that we've made out you've decided you'd rather be with a girl, haven't you?" Kurt yelled as he got off the bed and began pacing around the room.

"Is that what you've been thinking all this time?" Noah countered, shocked at Kurt's outburst. "You didn't want to go to school with me today because you thought I was just bullshitting you this whole time?"

* * *

Kurt nodded shyly, beginning to feel ashamed at his behavior. He never planned on telling Noah why he didn't want to come out as a couple, or at least part of the reason. He would NEVER tell Noah about the bet, not just because he swore to Mercedes that they'd keep it a secret, but because he didn't think the boy would approve of such a deceit. He knew he needed a reason to want to remain "in the closet" so to speak, but Kurt had decided to rely on his professional improvising skills instead of brainstorming yet another excuse.

"No, not bullshitting me," Kurt began to explain, "Just more that you were confused about what you really wanted, and you were using me to experiment."

"Kurt, I introduced you to my mom and my little sister. I wouldn't tell my family I was with you unless I was serious."

"Oh. True." Kurt sat down crossed legged on the foot of the bed, facing Noah who was leaning against the headboard. "But… I still don't understand."

"Why I don't want to go farther with you?"

Noah paused as Kurt mumbled a "Yeah."

"Kurt," Noah crawled down Kurt's queen sized bed until he sat crossed legged right in front of Kurt. Grasping the other boy's tiny hand, Noah hoped his explanation would satisfy Kurt. "I want to do this the right way. Just because we're dating now doesn't mean we should have sex right away. I want it to be special; I want to get to know you before we do anything else. And believe me, you have no idea how much I want to go farther with you. It kills me to hold back, but I want to do this as traditional as possible.

Kurt stared at Noah as the boy's explanation sunk in. He seriously felt like an idiot.

"I'm sorry I was such a whore, Noah."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, babe." Noah placed a kiss on the boy's forehead before standing up.

"Please don't go-"Kurt started.

"I'll be right back. I know how I can prove to you that my feelings are legit," Noah interjected.

Kurt waited anxiously on the bed as Noah exited the basement. He seriously felt like a total douche. He never intended to try and sexually assault the jock, but his hormones had completely taken over. All he could think was "more, closer, and harder" as he and Noah messed around on his bed.

The basement door opened and Noah bounded down the stairs, rousing Kurt out of his thoughts. The jock had apparently gone to his truck to get his prized guitar.

"I felt like you should get a special preview of the song I was going to sing for you in Glee," Noah said, shyly looking to the ground as he spoke, a blush vivid on his cheeks.

Kurt excitedly watched as Noah sat on his computer chair, strumming his guitar a few times as he prepared to sing.

_Maybe it's intuition_  
_But some things you just don't question_  
_Like in your eyes_  
_I see my future in an instant_  
_and there it goes_  
_I think I've found my best friend_  
_I know that it might sound more than_  
_a little crazy but I believe_

_I knew I loved you before I met you_  
_I think I dreamed you into life_  
_I knew I loved you before I met you_  
_I have been waiting all my life_

_There's just no rhyme or reason_  
_only this sense of completion_  
_and in your eyes_  
_I see the missing pieces_  
_I'm searching for_  
_I think I found my way home_  
_I know that it might sound more than_  
_a little crazy but I believe_

_A thousand angels dance around you_  
_I am complete now that I found you_

Kurt clapped loudly, letting out a nice wolf whistle that Santana had taught him one day during Glee (she told him it'd help him get notice at the Adam Lambert concert he was going to be attending with Mercedes.)

As Noah placed his guitar against the desk, Kurt slid gracefully into his lap, planting a big kiss on the boy's lips.

"I'm sorry I doubted you, Noah. Tomorrow at school, we are going to walk the halls of McKinley like we're God's gift to this Earth and show the school just how fierce we can be. I'm proud to show you off as my boyfriend."

Noah beamed at him in response, pulling him in for a slow and sensual kiss.

* * *

A/N: Hope you liked it! I'm very excited for the next chapter! How is McKinley going to react? Dun dun dun DRAMA for sure :)!

For those of you who read my other story, "Don't Tell Me What to Do" it'll be updated within the next few days I hope. I need to take some time to think of what direction I want it to go in.

Reviews are loved and appreciated. I want to thank everyone who's reviewed so far. I enjoy reading everyone's thoughts and they encourage me to continue writing. You guys are the best.

Song = Savage Garden's "I Knew I Loved You"


	11. Chapter 11

Kurt spent much of the night thinking over Noah's words.

"_Kurt, I introduced you to my mom and my little sister. I wouldn't tell my family I was with you unless I was serious."_

He wanted to show Noah that he was serious about their relationship too. So he decided to do something risky; he was going to introduce his new boyfriend to his father.

Naturally, Kurt didn't tell Noah of his plans before he arrived. He certainly didn't want to scare the boy off. He knew his dad could be intimidating, but he was certain Noah was "badass" enough to handle it… but he was going to take caution and present the situation at the right time so his boyfriend had no chance but to accept his plan. He was a Hummel after all, and Hummel's always got what they wanted, or so he liked to think.

Kurt texted Noah as soon as he woke up the next morning, asking him if he would like to drive to school together.

"Yeah, but you're picking me up this time. No more skipping school, Kurt Hummel."

Well shit, Kurt thought to himself. Time for a little white lie.

"My dad asked me to leave my car at home so he can do a safety inspection on it. It's been sounding funny lately. And I promise this isn't an attempt to skip."

Noah almost instantly replied as soon as the text was sent.

"Fine, but if you decide to pull something on me, I will pick you up and carry you into Spanish if I have to."

"Noted, Mr. Puckerman. See you soon, sexy."

Kurt wasn't usually one for boosting other's egos, but he figured it'd help put Noah in a good mood when he arrived. Besides, it's not like he was saying something that wasn't true.

Approximately seventy two minutes later (it's not like Kurt was counting or anything. He was sure this idea was golden, and was totally NOT anxious about it,) Noah knocked on his door, just like he did the previous day. Kurt was counting on this, since it would raise some seriously awkward questions if he had to go outside and ask Noah to come back in.

"Hey babe, you ready?" Noah leaned forward and placed a small kiss on Kurt's cheek.

"Uh, just a second, I forgot my bag downstairs. You can come in, I'll be just a second."

* * *

Noah waited anxiously for Kurt to return. He wanted to get to school and show off his new boyfriend and begin his life as an openly gay (or bisexual, he still wasn't completely sure) man.

A voice from the kitchen interrupted his thoughts… a voice that was definitely deeper and manlier than Kurt's.

"You a friend of Kurt's?" Noah turned in the direction of the voice and stared into the eyes of who he assumed was Kurt's father. He'd heard from Finn that the man was kind of intimidating, but he just chalked it up to as Finn being a sissy again. Even though he hated to admit it, Finn was right this time. Kurt's father was the complete opposite of his son. Where Kurt was short, thin, and delicate, Burt Hummel was tall, beefy, and definitely looked like he could hold his own in a bar fight.

"Uh, sort of," Noah stammered out, not sure if Kurt had told his dad about their relationship, but figuring it was most likely a no if Mr. Hummel assumed he was just a friend.

"Okay, well, you got a name son?"

"Noah Puckerman, sir." He moved towards the kitchen and stuck his hand out for the man to shake.

"Puckerman, you say? Weren't you one of the boys who used to throw my son in the dumpster?" Noah immediately dropped his hand and ran it across his nonexistent mohawk, silently wishing the strip of hair was there to comfort him. He couldn't explain it but touching the piece of hair always made him feel safe.

Before he had a chance to respond, Kurt (finally) made his way upstairs and came to stand next to Noah.

"I see you met my boyfriend, dad."

Not even looking up into the eyes of Kurt's dad, Noah adjusted his position so that Kurt was in front of him. He wasn't a coward, but the guy would do some serious damage to his face if he got mad enough. And besides, it's not like Kurt's dad would ever hit Kurt. He just couldn't imagine anyone who would want to harm the perfect specimen that was Kurt Hummel… well besides Karofsky, but that dude was a serious freak of nature.

"Boyfriend you say?" He paused to stare at Noah, who put his hands in his pockets and tried his best to keep his eyes locked with Kurt's dad. He heard once on Animal Planet that keeping eye contact with a dangerous wild animal showed you weren't afraid of them, which kept them from attacking you. He prayed it worked in this situation. "Kurt, can I have a word with you in the living room, please?"

Noah leaned against the kitchen counter and waited for the two to come back. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he just imagined Kurt with his hand on his hip, telling his dad that he and Noah were in love and were going to run off to Vegas to get married if he didn't accept their relationship. Okay, so he might have just made shit up, because it's not like Kurt would ever get married in Vegas… more like in Buckingham Palace or some fancy rich place no normal person could have a wedding at.

After what seemed like an hour, the two returned to the kitchen. Kurt's triumphant look made Noah smile; at least he wasn't the only one who couldn't say no to the boy.

"Well, it seems my boy here likes you, for reasons I won't pretend I understand. But you listen up here, Puckerman. If you hurt my boy in anyway, even if it's just by stepping on his foot, I will personally make sure it is the last thing you ever do, do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir, clear as day. I promise I will never hurt Kurt and will protect him from anyone who doesn't have good intentions."

Burt stared at him for a minute, before nodding his head in acceptance.

"Alright, well have a good day at school."

"Bye dad, I love you."

"Bye, Mr. Hummel."

"I love you too, Kurt." They walked out of the kitchen and headed for the front door. Just as they were about to enter Noah's truck, Burt called out from the front porch.

"Hey, Puckerman?" Noah looked up from holding open Kurt's door. "No funny business with my boy, you hear me?"

"Yes, sir."

They drove to school in silence until McKinley High came into view.

"Are you nervous?" Kurt asked him.

"Dude, those emotions are for weak sissies. I'm a total badass, I can handle anything."

Through his peripheral vision, he saw Kurt staring him down with his typical eyebrow raised.

"Not nervous, but anxious I suppose. Quinn's the only one who knows. I don't give two shits how everyone else reacts, except for the people in Glee."

He saw Kurt nod in either agreement or understanding, he wasn't too sure.

"What about you?"

"I'm nervous," Kurt admitted. "I just don't want to get harassed and bullied about it. It's nice to finally have a boyfriend and not be the only gay kid in Lima, though."

Noah stopped at the red traffic light and turned to face Kurt, holding the boy's left hand in his right.

"Listen to me, Kurt. If anyone gives trouble about us or anything else, I want you to tell me, and I promise you they'll never bother you again."

He sighed as Kurt rolled his eyes.

"I can take care of myself, Noah."

"And I can take care of you, too. No one messes with Noah Puckerman's boyfriend unless they want the shit beat out of them by Puckzilla." He paused to let Kurt finish laughing. "Promise me you'll tell me?"

"I promise, but only if I have to."

"Oh you do. You owe me big time for doing the surprise 'Oh-hey-I'm-going-to-let-you-meet-my-dad-and-not-tell-you-beforehand.'"

"Hey now!" Kurt exclaimed, letting go of his hand when the light turned green. "That totally was not planned."

"Please, do you really expect me to believe that it took you five minutes to grab your backpack from your room?"

"Yes, I do expect you to believe that, because I'm a completely trustworthy person." Kurt grumbled, crossing his arms over his slim chest.

"Whatever you say, babe." Noah pulled into a parking spot and turned his truck off.

While Kurt was rummaging through his bag, Noah took a second to take a deep breath. Everything he knew about high school was about to change the second they stepped out of his truck. He looked over to Kurt who had pulled out a pair of fancy designer sunglasses from his bag. He decided that no matter what happened to his reputation, as long as he had Kurt at his side, he could handle anything. And it didn't hurt that his guns were as fine as ever. No one would dare mess with him, no matter what his sexuality was.

"Here take these." Kurt handed him the pair of Aviator sunglasses he kept in his glove box, as he slipped on his own expensive sunglasses.

"What are these for?" Noah questioned, taking the glasses and putting them on.

Kurt shrugged, "They make us look mysterious. I thought it'd be a nice dramatic effect to our entrance."

Noah laughed and the two of them exited his truck. He could see his peers already glancing over and pointing over at the two, probably wondering since when Noah Puckerman drove Kurt Hummel to school.

"Well here goes nothing." Kurt held out his arm for Noah link his through.

"Not so fast, Hummel. You do that linking arm shit with all your friends. We are a couple, so," Noah grabbed his hand tightly, "We hold hands."

"Well fine, but I have to be on your left. It's more comfortable that way."

They strode through the school parking lot, hand in hand, and quietly commented on how their entrance was affecting the other students.

"Everyone is totally staring at us," Kurt noted, adjusting himself so that they walked as close together as possible.

"No not that guy," Noah replied, "Oh no wait, he just looked too."

Kurt began chuckling.

"You have no idea how much this is reminding me of the Twilight movie right now."

"Yeah, well my shades are way hotter than Edward's. Plus, I'm a total stud and you're prettier than Bella, so I think we win."

"You watched Twilight?" Kurt asked, shocked.

"Sarah made me do it, I swear I'm not that gay," Noah stressed, making sure Kurt understood he didn't make a habit of watching chick movies in his spare time. Except for A Walk to Remember, but that one didn't count because Mandy Moore was a total babe.

Noah held the door open for Kurt as they entered the school, smirking to himself as literally everyone, even their teachers, were staring and whispering about them.

Once again, he grabbed Kurt's hand firmly in his own and led the boy to their lockers, which were several feet away from one another's.

Noah quickly grabbed his Spanish books and tossed the contents of his backpack into his locker, ignoring the way Kurt tsk'd at his lack of organization.

He waited for Kurt as he exchanged his books at his locker, casually wrapping his arm around the boy's waist, mentally laughing at the scandalized looks of the boys and the crestfallen expressions of the girls.

"Yo, Puckerman, I hear you've caught the Fairy's disease."

Noah tightened his grip on Kurt as the two of them turned around to face Karofsky and the three hockey players behind him.

"Being gay isn't a disease, you Neanderthal," Kurt clarified. "However, stupidity must be, so please stay far away from me and my boyfriend, because we'd rather not be contaminated by the likes of you and your kind."

"You better watch it, Hummel," Karofsky exclaimed menacingly as he moved closer to the couple. "When your boyfriend isn't around, you may just get your ass handed to you."

Noah took his turn to step forward, maneuvering himself so that he stood protectively in front of Kurt.

"No, Karofsky, you better watch it, because if you lay so much as a finger on Kurt's precious head, I will fuck you up so bad, you'll be in the hospital for a week wishing you were dead."

"Oh yeah, Puckerman?" Karofsky reached around Noah so fast, he didn't have time to react.

"This is Gucci, you buffoon!" Kurt shrieked after Karofsky roughly touched his shirt. "It's worth more than any amount of money you'll see in your pathetic existence of a life."

"I just touched your little fairy, what now?" Karofsky laughed, ignoring Kurt's remark.

Noah was seeing red. How DARE Karofsky think he could get away with that? He knew he was being tested, so he did what any could boyfriend would do; he defended his and Kurt's honor, just like he promised Kurt's dad.

Using all his strength, Noah threw all his weight into Karofsky, knocking the bully into a row of lockers.

"Is that the best you can do, Puckerman?" Karofsky boasted, "What happened to the big, badass, invincible, Puckzilla?"

Pulling his fist back slowly, Noah smirked at the fear suddenly building in Karofsky's eyes. The other hockey players seemed to be frozen in shock.

"Noah, he isn't worth it."

He lowered his fist after Kurt's words. A part of his mind was screaming at him to punch Karofsky's lights out, to defend his boyfriend and his reputation as a badass, but the other part calmly told him that Kurt didn't like violence, and rearranging Dave Karofsky's face wasn't going to make his boyfriend weak in the knees.

"Oh look boys, Hummel's got his bitch on a tight leash." Karofsky adjusted his shirt after Noah let him go, smiling cruelly as his friends laughed, "Tell me Puckerman, does he give you any like that whore Fabray, or does he keep his legs crossed like Princess Berry?"

Kurt quickly grabbed Noah's hand and pulled him towards their Spanish class, mumbling under his breath to ignore the jock and that they should pity him for being such a dumbass.

He pretended it didn't hurt when Karofsky called out, "See you later, faggots," after their retreating backs. He felt so ashamed that he used to call Kurt the same derogatory words, vowing to himself that he'd do everything in his power to make up for the damage and pain he caused Kurt over the years.

The rest of their day passed with only minor incidents, with lunch being the most eventful part of their regular school day.

Rachel had fawned over the new couple, excited that she knew Noah was gay "probably before he even figured it out himself," which caused Kurt to roll his eyes and Noah to glare at the brunette.

Tina and Artie had congratulated them and suggested they go on a double date sometime, an idea that Kurt seemed thrilled about and Noah reluctantly accepted. Artie was cool, but the gothic girl kind of freaked him out sometimes with her dark clothing style, especially since it contrasted with her relatively sunny personality.

Finn had stared open mouthed at them as they shared a quick kiss, looking around confusedly. "Did I miss something?" he had mumbled helplessly to Quinn, who patted his arm in comfort.

Quinn had of course, known about their relationship already, and had smiled knowingly while everyone else exclaimed how shocked they were that Noah Puckerman was dating Kurt Hummel.

Mercedes had glared at him for a second, but had turned to Kurt and congratulated him on his new relationship. Turning to face Noah, she eyed him up and down before stating that even though she accepted Kurt's choice in men, he better not trip up unless he wanted some serious damage done to his face, truck, and everything else that he held dear to him.

Brittany and Santana had sat with the other Cheerios during lunch, but he'd seen Santana smirking in their direction, a sign that he needed to avoid the Latina girl. He wasn't dumb enough to get in the middle of one of her schemes. Brittany didn't seem to realize anything was different and had spent the lunch period making Origami swans out of a stack of post-it notes. He was shocked she had managed to learn such a difficult skill, but he figured when it came to ducks, Brittany would learn to do anything to support her obsession.

Matt had congratulated them also, but Noah decided Mike's reaction had surprised him the most. The Asian boy had always been quiet, but he was usually cheerful and positive. Today he spent the lunch period glaring at Noah when he thought he wasn't looking and looking overall sullen, like someone had just told him he had to choose between his favorite dog or the ability to keep dancing. Noah observed their prized dancer, and concluded he had a crush on Kurt. Mike's demeanor would do a complete 180 anytime Kurt talked, and he blushed every time Kurt looked over at him. Noah turned to glare harshly at Mike, causing the other boy to stand up and claim he had to go practice his song for Glee.

Hell, they'd only been dating for two days and already some boy was trying to creep on his Kurt. Noah scanned the room, mentally calculating which boy was likely to be secretly gay, silently annoyed at how big his list was. He needed to be on his guard if he wanted to keep Kurt safe from all the bi-curious boys lurking around.

* * *

Kurt's day had gone pretty well after the Karofsky incident. He had spent a large part of the morning texting Mercedes. He'd almost completely forgotten about the bet until he received a text from her in first period.

"I hear you're dating Puck now? Way to go white boy, I didn't think you had it in you."

"Well, dear, you need to have faith. And it didn't hurt that he already liked me."

"I TOLD YOU SO. You should be thanking me for meddling so much."

"Thank you, 'Cedes, for helping me get over Finn and realizing that Noah was a much better option."

"You're welcome. And since I'm such a good friend, please be a good friend back and don't dress me in something hideous."

"I literally gasped when I read this. I would never do such a thing."

"Whatever you say, honey. I gotta go for now, I need to bullshit some essay on the Renaissance."

By the time they entered Glee (late of course, because Noah insisted they take a few minutes to make out in the janitor's closet), the rest of the school had seemed to accept that yes, Kurt and Noah were dating. Nobody else had been as brave as Karofsky to say something to them, but he'd noticed the disgusted looks of some of his peers.

They walked in the middle of Mr. Schuester's opening speech for the day and quickly made their way to a pair of seats in the back, in between Mike and Quinn. Before Kurt sat down next to Mike, Noah tried to discreetly push the pair of chairs closer to Quinn, an action Mike clearly noticed. The Asian boy crossed his arms and glared over at Noah but remained silent. Kurt wondered to himself what the hell that was about and made a mental note to ask Noah later.

"As I was saying, has anyone else completed their assignment for the week?" Mr. Schuester asked, "Besides Rachel," he added as the petite girl waved her hand wildly in the air.

Kurt tentatively raised his hand.

"Awesome! Kurt, would you like to sing for us today?"

"I didn't finish my paper yet, but my song is ready," he explained.

"That's alright; everyone has until Friday to turn in the one page paper explaining why they chose their song. Come up here Kurt, and show us what you got."

Kurt sauntered up to the front of the choir room, taking a deep breath to calm the nerves he always got before performing. He'd spent a while searching for a song to describe Noah but couldn't find one that seemed to fit. After flipping through his IPod for hours, he finally found a song that explained the way he was feeling at the moment in regards to his boyfriend.

"My partner for this project is Noah. I picked 'Don't Let It Go to Your Head' by Fefe Dobson to describe how I feel about him at this moment."

He heard Brittany mumble to Santana, "I didn't know dogs could sing," and had to keep himself from laughing as the band played behind him.

"_So what if I came clean  
And told you all you mean to me  
So what if I meant every word I said  
Baby don't let it go to your head  
So what if I write your name  
Cause you're always on my brain  
In a heart, I paint it crimson red  
Baby don't let it go to your head _

Don't be getting any big ideas  
Let me make it clear

Just cause I can't go on  
Just cause I die when you're gone  
Just cause I think of you in bed  
Don't let it go to your head  
If I looked in your eyes  
One, two, too many times  
And memorized every word you said  
Don't let it go to your head

So what if I want to kiss  
From your toes up to your lips  
It don't mean that you've had me yet  
You're gonna be good, I bet

I'm the one whose in control here  
Let me make it clear

Just cause I can't go on  
Just cause I die when you're gone  
Just cause I think of you in bed  
Don't let it go to your head  
If I looked in your eyes  
One, two, too many times  
And memorized every word you said  
Don't let it go to your head

Ohhhhh  
Don't let it go to your head"

* * *

Noah felt the heat rise in his cheeks as Kurt began to sing, moving in a way that was way too sexual to be considered appropriate, in his opinion. He felt his heart race as Kurt sang about how he thought of him in bed. How the hell was he supposed to keep his morals together when his gorgeous boyfriend was declaring that he fantasizes about him in front of their entire Glee club?

He shot a quick glance over to Mike Chang who looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there for the rest of his life.

'That's right Chang,' Noah thought smugly to himself, 'That's my boyfriend and he only wants me, so go out and find your own damn boyfriend, because there's no way in hell I'm giving up mine.'

He applauded loudly after Kurt's performance, laughing at Quinn's cat call.

Kurt gracefully took his seat, smiling at the applause from his peers.

"So you think about me in bed, eh?" Noah began cockily," Are you on top or am I?"

He laughed as Kurt turned a brilliant shade of red, but before the soprano could come back with a snarky retort, Santana turned around in her seat.

"Congratulations, Kurt."

"Thanks, Santana, I can't wait to see your performance," he replied humbly.

"Oh I'm not talking about your song, that was only mediocre," she paused as she tossed her hair behind her back, "I'm talking about finally winning your bet with Mercedes. It must have taken a lot of _hard_ work, and a lot of… you know," she eyed Noah up and down, focusing her gaze on his crotch, "sucking up to do."

He looked confusedly over to Kurt who had paled completely.

"What is she talking about?" he questioned, a sense of dread filling him. He had no clue what was going on, but his gut was telling him it wasn't good.

"I uh, I don't know, Noah," he stuttered, staring at Mercedes who looked just as shocked as Kurt did.

"Oh my God, you mean to tell me he doesn't know, Hummel?" Santana looked between the two before letting out a cruel laugh, "And here I was thinking you two had some sort of deal worked out, where you blew him in between classes and Puck here pretended to be your boyfriend so you'd win. Silly me."

"What are you talking about, Santana? I think you've finally lost it."

"Puck, seriously? Just look at the two of them," she said, indicating Kurt and Mercedes. "Do you really think I'd make up that Hummel and Mercedes had a bet going that he could get you to date him? Even I'm not cruel enough to come up with-"

"She's lying," Kurt interjected, color coming back to his face.

"Yeah, she's gone loco," Mercedes spoke up. "She has no proof. Besides, we'd never to something like that.

"Oh really?" Santana pulled out a neatly folded note from her backpack and tossed it onto Noah's lap, "Read it for yourself."

"Where the hell did you get that," Kurt harshly whispered as Noah unfolded the note, unsure if he wanted to read what was on the paper.

"It's none of your business, Hummel-"

"I thought you were writing down notes for our assignment, so I took it out of the trashcan," Brittany added dreamily, "I hope you figured out who you were talking to in your diary by now."

Ignoring Brittany's ramblings, Noah scanned through the note in despair.

The line, "_Keep doubtin' me girl. Just makes me try harder. I have it in the bag, chica. I am going to become the King of Seduction and have Puck wrapped around my little manicured pinky" _stuck out at him the most.

Crumbling up the note in disgust, he picked up his backpack and stormed out of the room, deaf to Kurt's calls to come back so he could explain.

* * *

A/N: Plenty more drama to come, I promise you that!

Read and review :)


	12. Chapter 12

Noah should have known that something was wrong from the second Kurt agreed to go out with him. Why would someone as perfect as Kurt Hummel settle for Noah Puckerman, King of Lima Losers? He didn't have anything to offer the other boy, besides his dashing good looks, but even that could go only so far.

He wandered the halls lost in thought, feeling ashamed and humiliated. God Damn, how could he have been so stupid? He fell right into Kurt's trap.

"_I let people think I like Finn so they wouldn't sense my feelings for you." _He should have listened to his gut feeling; it was so obvious Kurt was obsessed with Finn that even Brittany had noticed, which was saying something. And when Kurt had asked him if Mercedes had anything to do with Noah asking him out, that should have thrown up a red flag. But he bought every excuse Kurt could come up with no matter how ridiculous it sounded. Because why would Kurt lie to him?

'_Well, maybe because there's no way in hell he would willingly go out with you unless he gained something from it,'_ Noah thought bitterly to himself.

He wanted nothing more than to collapse onto the floor and cry his eyes out until the pain went away. But he wasn't weak like that. His father always told him crying was for inferior people, and he was a strong boy so he should never shed a tear. Unable to control his emotions, he did the next best thing; he punched the nearest locker, causing a dent in the metal but thankfully not busting his knuckles open again.

"Hey there, Jewish boy, shouldn't you be singing your tiny little heart out with the other freaks in that little club of Mr. Schuester's instead of damaging valuable school property?

'I so don't need this right now,' he mentally groaned.

Turning to face their cheerleading coach, Sue Sylvester, Noah tried to collect himself before he replied. Everyone knew Coach Sylvester could smell weakness like a dog could smell beef jerky.

"I'm taking the day off. And all I did was kill a bug on the locker."

"You see, that's the problem with you little Glee club kids," she began lecturing as she moved to stand closer to him, "You don't put in the effort that my Cheerios do; that's why they're champions. And since you must be unfamiliar with that word, let me explain it to you. Champions are winners, meaning they don't lose, like every other sport at this institution," she paused, eyeing him up and down. "Now tell me, Puckerface-

"It's Puckerman-"

"Same thing," she continued nonchalantly, waving her hand in dismissal, "I hear you've finally come out of the closet and are no longer a sneaky gay. I also hear that you are continuing your Cheerio fetish with my prized Lady Face. I find this to be a good choice since you can't impregnate my future head cheerleader because he lacks the necessary, yet useless, parts for reproduction.

"Kurt and I are no longer together anymore Coach," he mumbled, unable to look the intimidating woman in the eye.

"Ah, so that's your problem. Well since I'm such a fine educator, let me give you some advice to wrap your little head around. Depression and self doubt will get you nowhere in this world. You know what will get you somewhere? Anger. Don't get sad, get mad, Sue always says. Just tell the person how you feel! Stand up and say '*Insert name* here, you know what? You suck and I don't, so screw you and your *insert insult here* and leave me alone before I *insert threat here*.''

Noah stared at her in confusion. Did she really consider that to be good advice?

"You look confused boy, so let Sue here give you a demonstration. 'Will Schuester, you know what? You suck and I don't, so screw you and your lesbian hairstyle and leave me alone before I vomit in that dumpster you call a car."

Noah pondered her words, ignoring the dig at his favorite teacher. Sure she was most likely clinically insane, but for once she completely made sense. He knew what he had to do now.

"Thanks Coach, I think I'll do that."

"That's how Sue sees it, Puckerwoman. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a new diabolical plot to hatch against our local credit card company. That'll teach them to raise my rates again, those chauvinistic bastards."

Noah pulled out his IPod from his pocket as she walked away and scrolled through his "Angry Music" playlist. Heading towards the choir room, he silently hoped Mr. Schue hadn't dismissed the club early.

* * *

The remaining students left in the choir room were a mix of emotions. Tina, Artie, Matt and Rachel looked scandalized and were sharing glances with one another, trying to silently communicate where all this had come from. Santana had a triumphant smirk on her face as she fixed her lip gloss in her small compact mirror. Finn was clearly confused as to what he just witnessed, staring hopelessly around the room trying to find an answer, while Quinn's flushed face indicated she was absolutely livid that Kurt had hurt her Noah. Brittany seemed to be unbothered by what just happened and was currently drawing a unicorn on her left arm, complete with sparkles and a pink tail. Mike had a tiny frown on his face, trying to decide whether or not he should be upset or happy at what just happened. Mercedes remained expressionless but she kept her gaze focused on Kurt, whose lips were set into a pout and he looked like he was trying really hard not to cry.

"What the hell is your problem, Kurt Hummel?" Quinn demanded as she came to stand in front of the soprano, just seconds after the choir door shut behind Noah.

"You know, I have to agree with Quinn for once, Kurt. This is totally out of character of you. It's more along the lines of something we'd expect from Santana," Rachel commented from her perch on the piano bench. Santana nodded in agreement.

"And Mercedes, I can't believe you participated in this! You must have known from the beginning this would end only in disaster," Rachel started ranting as she paced up and down the choir room floor, passing Mr. Schue who was sitting quietly in a chair, "I mean, honestly, how did the two of you even come up with such a mean idea?" The petite brunette came to a stop in front of Kurt and Mercede's chair.

"White girl, you better get out of my face if you want to keep it arranged in its current formation," Mercedes threatened, causing Rachel to huff in annoyance. But because she wasn't stupid, the brunette girl returned to her seat by the piano.

"It's not what it seems like, I swear-"

"Please, Hummel, are you really going to play that card? We're too smart for that," Quinn glanced over to Brittany who had begun staring in wonder at the lights above her head, "Well, most of us anyways, but you get the point."

"It started out as a bet, but I really care for him Quinn, you have to believe me," Kurt pleaded with the pregnant girl, knowing that he needed to convince her of the truth if he wanted to win Noah back. He really didn't care what Rachel thought; he could live a happy life never hearing any of her opinions every again.

"I don't think I can trust you anymore, and I know for sure you're going to have a hell of a time trying to regain Noah's trust. He's not one of the most trusting people, but then again, you somehow seemed to have figured out how to manipulate him easily enough."

"He really likes Puck," Brittany interjected casually from her seat behind Kurt before he had a chance to defend himself.

"And how do you know that Brittany?" Quinn quietly asked as the other Glee members looked on with interest.

"You can see it in his eyes, silly," Brittany giggled. "He's in love, it's totally obvious."

Santana raised her eyebrow at her best friend but remained quiet. Quinn, on the other hand, wasn't one to always tolerate Brittany's random 'observations'.

"You're looking at the back of his head, Britt," Quinn pointed out, ignoring the glare Santana turned on her.

"Well, duh, but when he like turns around, I can tell. His eyes sparkle every time you say Noah's name," Brittany patiently explained. "Just try it."

Quinn seemed hesitant to get closer to Kurt, so Santana took charge.

"Turn around, Hummel," she instructed with less patience than her friend.

"This is really unnecessary," Kurt grumbled as he turned to face the Latina cheerleader.

"NOAH!" she yelled as she moved her face closer to the soprano's, causing him to flinch back in alarm.

"I don't see any change, Britt Britt," Santana casually remarked to her blonde friend.

Brittany rolled her eyes.

"I think you frightened him, Sanny. Here, let me try and you watch."

Brittany scooted closer to Kurt and leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"Noahhhh," she purred in her sexiest voice.

"His eyes definitely changed," Santana observed, smiling over to her best friend. "Sucks for you, Hummel, you just fucked up the best thing you're pathetic life ever had."

"Yeah, thanks for that, Satan," Kurt rudely retorted.

"Just told him the truth, it's not like I _made up_ anything," Santana cattily shot back.

"Okay enough, this is ridiculous," Quinn cut in, "Can we just focus on how-"

Before she had a chance to finish, the choir door opened and Noah entered slowly.

"Artie, can I borrow your electric guitar?" he asked, ignoring the stares of his peers.

"Yeah, sure man, anytime," Artie replied kindly as he handed the guitar over to the larger boy.

Pulling a stool to the center of the room, Noah sat down and finally locked eyes with each one of the Glee members.

"We always say Glee is about expressing our feelings and emotions in the only way we know how- through music. So I've decided to do a mash up for this week's assignment."

Adjusting the strap of the guitar so it fit comfortably, Noah focused his gaze on Kurt.

"This one's for you, Hummel."

Noah strummed the electric guitar and began singing in a deep voice.

_For everything you do_

_I'd like to swallow you_

_And everyday I'm gonna blame you_

_Even If you justify_

_Every fuckin bullshit lie_

_It only makes me want to break you_

_When you repeatedly_

_Take advantage of me_

_The only thought I get of you_

_Sickens me_

_Everybody knows you're fake_

_You're everything I fuckin hate_

_And I'm everything you'll never be_

_I hate everything about you_

_Why do I love you?__  
I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you?_

_It's broken now_

_Don't ever look my way_

_Don't even think I'm playin_

_Cause I fuckin hate you_

_You're such a liar_

_I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you?_

_Y__ou make me insane!_

When Noah finished playing, the entire club was left staring open mouthed. They were completely unprepared for the raw emotion in Noah's performance. Everyone looked over to Kurt who quickly wiped away a stray tear. Even Santana was lost for words.

"Well we prefer to perform songs with less cuss words, but good job Noah," Mr. Shuester awkwardly congratulated.

Without saying anything, Noah made his way to take the only seat open; the one right next to Kurt.

Before the taller jock could even sit down, Kurt grabbed his bag and ran from the room, Mercedes right on his heels.

"Kurt, sweetie, you really care about him, don't you?" she asked when they finally stopped in the parking lot.

He was seriously grateful that his dad had decided to bring his car to school, knowing that Kurt liked to run errands (also known as shopping) right after Glee ended.

Leaning against his car, he finally let the tears flow freely. Mercedes immediately wrapped him in a tight hug and whispered that everything was going to be okay.

"Noah won't be mad at you forever, baby; he just needs to cool down. In a few days he'll be ready to listen to your explanation and then everything will work out for the best."

"He just sang to the entire Glee club that he HATED me. Hate, 'Cedes, is a fairly strong emotion that you don't get over in a few days."

"He also said he loved you," she calmly added, "It'll get better soon, he just needs some time."

"I don't want to wait that long, 'Cedes, I want my boyfriend back," he whined into her shoulder. "Everything's so screwed up. I wasn't supposed to fall for fucking Noah Puckerman. I should be celebrating how I won our little bet instead of crying about how much my life sucks right now."

"Everything happens for a reason," Mercedes wisely pointed out. "In hindsight, this probably wasn't the best idea. I guess we never considered we'd be messing with someone else's emotions."

"You think?" Kurt chuckled as he used his fingers to wipe away his tears without ruining the little bit of eyeliner he had on.

"Well, the way I saw it white boy, was you would focus on Noah, realize that you two would make the best couple ever, and he would ask you out because he was already totally into you. I just didn't account for little miss Santana Lopez to get in the way."

"Karma's a bitch, she'll get what's coming to her," Kurt answered forcefully, "I think I'm going to head home now, I have an apology to work out, but I'll call you tonight?"

"Sounds good," she replied, giving him a kiss on his cheek. "Just let me know what you come up with, and I'll work something out too."

After waving goodbye to his best friend, Kurt slid into his Navigator ready to end the shitty day. Before backing out of the parking spot, he looked up towards the school.

What he saw made his blood boil.

Noah and Mike were walking close together, looking happier than Kurt thought was necessary given the circumstances. Before Noah reached his truck, he gave Mike a hug that was way too long to be considered just friendly.

Feeling angry and jealous, Kurt drove home to work on his preparations to get Noah back, determined not to rest until he could once again call Noah Puckerman his.

* * *

A/N: I love working with a jealous Kurt. We usually all do a jealous Noah, but I think Kurt would be quite the jealous boyfriend, though more secretive about it.

Some questions for the next chapter- How will Kurt decide to get Noah back? Will it work, or is Noah already moving on? What is Mike's involvement in all this?

Read and review !


	13. Chapter 13

Kurt singing in _Italics_

Cheerios singing together in **bold**Noah watched Kurt flee the room, feeling slightly guilty. The angry part of him was glad he had upset the boy with his performance, but his other, kinder side, felt bad for being the one to hurt Kurt.

* * *

Before anyone had a chance to comment on his song choice, Mr. Schuester stood up and called the attention of his shocked students.

"Well, I think we'll end Glee a little early today. Don't forget the rest of you are all scheduled to perform your songs tomorrow or Thursday. All papers are due by Friday. Have a good night, guys."

Noah glared at anyone who dared to even look at him, causing most of them to leave him alone. Quinn gave him a sympathetic smile as she headed out the door.

Deciding he didn't feel like going home just yet, he sat on the piano bench and stretched his fingers over the keys.

"Puck, are you okay?" a small voice questioned from behind him.

Looking up, Noah gazed into the concerned eyes of Mike.

"I'm good, thanks man," he curtly answered, not really feeling like talking to Mike. The Asian boy was probably stoked that Kurt was once again single.

"Dude, I was here when you sung that mash-up. I'm pretty sure you're not okay," Mike pointed out as he sat next to Noah on the piano bench.

"I'll get over it, shit happens, man. Besides, don't act like you aren't beyond excited that Kurt and I are over. I see the way you look at him."

Noah removed his fingers from the piano keys and clenched his fists in frustration. No matter how mad he was at Kurt, the idea of any guy paying attention to him made him way too jealous to be considered normal.

At least Mike had the decency to blush.

"I have a small crush on him, it's whatever. But I see the way you both look at each other; you're happy together and I understand that. No matter what led to him spending more time with you, I can tell he really likes you, Puck-"

"Why are you telling me this?" Noah demanded, annoyed. He was too mad at Kurt to give a damn about any of it right now.

"We've been friends since we were seven. I have your back, and I want you to be happy, dude," Mike shrugged. "Plus it's nice to see a gay couple dominate the school. It gives me hope."

Noah snorted, his spirits somewhat lifted by the image of him and Kurt strutting through McKinley, arm in arm, as their fellow students gazed at them with admiration. He couldn't help but smile despite his anger.

"You need to get laid, man, you're getting sappy," Noah joked, punching Mike on the shoulder.

"Well, you are single, for now at least," Mike answered, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Noah burst into laughter.

"You aren't my type, bro, sorry," he replied when he regained his composure.

"You're not my type, either, but whatever. You can't be too picky in Lima."

A small cough from the doorway caused the two boys to turn around.

"Um, if you guys aren't practicing, I would like to use the piano to rehearse my assignment, please," Rachel mumbled, looking surprised at how close Noah and Mike were sitting. She seriously hoped Noah wasn't rebounding on Mike. The Asian boy deserved something better than that. _And since when are all the boys in Lima gay_, she wondered to herself, hoping Finn wasn't among them.

"Yeah we were just leaving, Ms. Berry."

Noah glanced over to Mike, who was beaming, knowing exactly what was coming.

"I rap and you dance?" Noah questioned, ignoring Rachel's confused expression.

Mike nodded in agreement, pulling Rachel into the center of the choir room.

"_Ms. Berry girl you jazzy  
that's way past fine  
Girl you look like something that should be on the dance line  
Incredible by the waist  
plus she got a pretty face  
Even though she got class she listen to UGK_

_Ms. Berry, Ms. Berry!"_

As Noah rapped the Hurricane Chris song (well attempted to, even he had to admit he was not the next Eminem), Mike danced dirtily around Rachel, making sure his mini performance had a lot of pelvic thrusts and booty shaking.

Grabbing their backpacks after Noah finished his verse, they ran out to the parking lot together, laughing at Rachel's scandalized glare.

"I thought she was going to slap you when you grabbed her waist," Noah chuckled.

"Pretty sure she was too shocked to move, dude," Mike paused, and Noah braced himself for the boy's next statement. He was done thinking about Kurt for today. "But anyways, all I'm saying is give it some time for you to cool down, and then go talk to him. I think you'll find he really likes you," Mike advised as they stopped in front of Noah's truck.

"I'll think about it," Noah answered honestly. He really didn't know what to think at this point, but he was glad he could count on Mike. It was nice to know that he had a friend, besides Quinn, who really cared about him. "Thanks for talking to me, it means a lot."

"Anytime, Puck," Mike smiled as Noah brought him into a tight hug. "I hope it all works out for you."

"Me too man, me too. And hey, good luck trying to find the fourth gay guy in Lima."

* * *

Kurt paced his room that night for what seemed like an eternity. He had called Mercedes and neither of them had been able to come up with any good ideas on how he could prove to Noah that he truly had feelings for the jock.

It also didn't help his confidence that Noah already seemed to be moving on. The hug between him and Mike looked way to sexual in Kurt's opinion. He was seriously concerned that Noah was already over him. There was no way he could compete with Mike Chang; the Asian boy could dance, sing, play football and basketball, was on the math team, and was just way too damn cute to contend with.

Growling in frustration, Kurt flopped onto his bed and curled into a ball. Reaching over to his IHome, he turned the sound up, hoping to drown out his thoughts.

The song changed to one of his guilty pleasures, and suddenly Kurt knew exactly what to do.

* * *

Walking into the gym for the pep rally, Kurt prayed to Prada his idea would work.

As Co-Captain of the Cheerios, he called an emergency meeting that morning in the gym.

_"This better be good, Kurt," Santana grumbled through her yawn, annoyed that her Glee club teammate had refused to tell her the subject of the meeting. She was the other captain, after all, so why the fuck couldn't hell tell her._

_"Did Coach Sylvester die?" a panic stricken Brittany asked._

_"No, no, everything is fine. Girls," he began, raising his voice so all the Cheerios could hear, "I have an idea for our performance for today's pep rally-"_

_"But we already know what we're doing," Santana interrupted._

_"Yes, something we did at Regionals. My idea is for something new, and if I may, a bit more risqué."_

_"Does Coach know about this?" Santana questioned, a smirk beginning to form on her lips. She was beginning to like this new take-charge Kurt Hummel._

_"No…um," he faltered for a second, before regaining his composure, "But I think she'll like our new routine. She's always saying we need to be more controversial so we can draw ever more attention to ourselves._

_"I'm in," Santana declared, as Brittany nodded behind her. The rest of the girls followed suit, and Kurt smiled for once at his co-captain. She may be a cunning, crazy bitch, but she was always down for anything that would cause a stir amongst their peers._

Kurt took his position on the gym floor and waited for the music to start. The basketball team always had the first row on the bleachers so they could have the best view of the Cheerios. Kurt glared at Mike, who was engaged in a conversation with Noah. The two were laughing at something, and Kurt was pissed that Noah hadn't even looked over at him yet. He had spent a good portion of time last night, adjusting his Cheerios uniform so that it fit even more snug than before, clinging to him in all the right places. Even some of the girls were gazing at him admiringly, despite the fact that they all knew he would never return their affection.

Noah finally glanced over at him, just as the lights began to dim moments. Kurt could see the hurt in the boy's eyes despite the distance between them. Kurt took a deep breath and began to sing with the Cheerios.

"**Oh, I, I, I  
I wanna be bad with you baby  
I, I, I, I  
I wanna be bad with you baby"**

The Cheerios all stood still as they began singing. Kurt placed himself in the center of the group, with the other Cheerios either on his side or behind him. He wanted to make sure Noah had a perfect view of him dancing.

They broke into their sexual routine as Kurt sang his solo.

_"Do you, understand what I need, need from you  
Just let me be the one to show you (you)  
Everything that she can be is everything that I can be"_

Kurt traced his fingers down his body, starting at his shoulder and stopping at his hip bone. When he reached his hips, he began slowly thrusting his pelvis out, the other Cheerios mimicking his exact moves.

_I wanna be  
My turn  
Let me let you know that I can (I can)  
Promise that I won't do that  
So boy, say the time and place cuz you make me wanna misbehave_

They all turned to grab their designated dance partner and began sensual grinding on one another. The "girl" dancers in the pair leaned back as they moved their pelvises along those of the "guy" dancers, making the move even more sexual.

As they got to the chorus, they moved back into their original positions.

**"I wanna be bad  
You make bad look so good"**

The Cheerios dropped to the floor, placing their arms out behind them to keep the elevated. They spread their legs out, and quickly pushed their pelvises up and down three times, before changing to crawl forward on the floor. Stopping just several feet away from the bleachers, they stood up.

**"I got things on my mind  
I never thought I would"**

Placing his hands on the side of his head, Kurt spun his head around in a circle, before turning on his heels and sauntering away from the bleachers, following behind the rest of the Cheerios.

**I, I wanna be bad (bad)  
You make bad feel so good  
I'm losing all my cool  
I'm about to break the rules  
I, I wanna be bad**

With their backs to the crowd, Kurt ran his hands down of the side of his body, sticking his ass out as he reached his hips. They began shaking their asses up and down, until Kurt began his next solo.

_What's up?  
Tell me what to do, how to be, teach me  
All you your rules from A to Z,  
But I, I don't wantcha other girls to see  
that you're messin' round with me_

They turned to face the crowd before falling to the ground again, this time landing on all fours. Pushing their legs out behind them, they slowly dropped their pelvises to the floor, essentially humping the ground beneath them.

Should I boy  
Tell me what I got is what ya want  
Tell Tell me do I, I turn you on  
I don't want no one judging me

They stood up again, turning in a full circle before squatting down and standing up again quickly, their arms stretched out in front of them. As they reach the chorus again, they redid the same move they had used earlier for the chorus. Kurt knew that one would be crowd pleaser, plus it made him feel sexy to do it.

**"I wanna be bad  
You make bad look so good  
I got things on my mind  
I never thought I would  
I, I wanna be bad (bad)  
You make bad feel so good  
I'm losing all my cool  
I'm about to break the rules  
I, I wanna be bad"**

They ended their routine right in front of the basketball bench to thunderous applause. Kurt turned away from the bleachers and smiled at Santana as brought her into a quick hug.

"I've got new respect for you, Kurt. That routine was hot," Santana giggled, as Brittany ran over to hug the two of them. "I hope you and Puck work it out."

"Thanks, Santana, for going along with this and everything." Kurt knew he wouldn't ever get an actual apology from the Latina, but he was happy knowing he was as close to one as she would ever give out.

He pulled away from the group of girls and looked back towards the bleachers. The crowd had begun chanting, "NATIONALS," at the top of their lungs. He noticed Sue Sylvester was torn between enraged and mildly pleased. Kurt cringed when she glared at him; he'd have to deal with her later.

The basketball players were all standing up and clapping, except for Noah, who looked as if he was arguing with Mike. When Noah finally looked up, he met Kurt's eyes, and glared as he stormed towards the locker room.

Kurt followed, hoping he'd finally get to talk to the boy. He wanted to apologize and explain everything that had happened from the beginning.

"Noah?" Kurt called, as he pushed open the locker room door.

He moved his way through the smelly room, until he found a pissed off Noah sitting on a bench in the back corner of the room.

"Hey," he whispered as he sat next to the fuming boy. Kurt's gut feeling was telling him this wasn't going to be a pleasant interaction.

"What the fuck was that, Hummel?" Noah demanded, still looking down at the floor.

"Um, I don't know what you mean, Noah." Kurt hoped playing dumb would keep the older boy from blowing up at him.

No such luck.

"You know what I mean, Kurt!" Noah yelled, springing up from his seat. He began pacing the locker room back and forth, making wild hand gestures as he spoke. "Did you think I was going to come falling back into your arms because you paraded yourself like a piece of meat in front of the entire school? Do you think I want to date someone who demeans themselves to nothing but a sex object, _like every girl I've ever dated?_ I thought you were different, Kurt. I thought you had more respect for yourself than this. But I guess, once again, I was wrong about you."

Kurt's mouth hung open by the end of Noah's speech, as he watched Noah exit the room. He never expected this reaction. He had chosen this song, not only because it was sexy, but because he thought it would appeal to Noah's "badassness," which he knew Mike couldn't do. There was nothing overly sexual about Mike Chang. Kurt figured that by singing this particular song, he'd remind Noah the sexual attraction they had for one another was still intact; he wanted to show Noah that he could be sexual and "bad" too. Though looking back on it now, he probably should have picked a song that spoke also of their intellectual and emotional connection as well. Damn hindsight bias.

"What was that, Lady Face?" Coach Sylvester demanded as he reentered the gym.

"Oh, um, I thought we could do a new routine for the pep rally, you know, get the basketball team fired up," Kurt mumbled, afraid to look the intimidating woman in the eye.

"The only thing you're little performance did was fire up what's in their pants! Now, normally for this little stunt you pulled, I would have you cut from the Cheerios faster than Will Schuester could ruin a championship Olympic team. But luckily for you, I like the fact that you took charge and showed initiative."

"Really?" Kurt asked hopefully.

"Yes, don't get all excited and spread your fairy dust on me. Though next time you decide to change one of my routines, let me know beforehand. I had a few moves I could have added to your performance to make it even more scandalous than it already was."

"Yes Coach Sylvester!" Kurt exclaimed, happy to not be punished by the formidable woman.

"Now get out of my way, I need to smooth this over with Principal Figgins. Apparently his Christian believes don't agree with all that pelvis thrusting you all did. Preposterous in my opinion, what's wrong with a little overly sexual dancing to lighten one's day?"

He tuned his Coach out as she left, already plotting his next scheme as he watched Mike laugh with Noah while the two tossed a basketball back and forth.

Time for Plan B.

If only he _had_ a Plan B...

* * *

A/N: Aww poor Kurt, his plan back fired. Who knows what his little devious mind will come up with next!

First song is "She's Fine" by Hurricane Chris. It's a fun song, definitely so listen to it if you have't heard it! Some verions says "Ms. Berry" and others say "Halle Berry"

Second is "I Wanna be Bad" by Willa Ford. For the dancing, look at her music video and Ciara's "Ride."

Hope you enjoyed! Please review :)


	14. Chapter 14

Mike had tried to convince the stubborn Noah Puckerman to give Kurt a chance, he really did. After Kurt and the Cheerio's rather, uh… interesting performance, he argued in vain with the jock that it wasn't Kurt's choice to do the routine.

Noah didn't see it that way.

"Look, dude, I know you're into this whole, gay power couple of McKinley idea, but it's seriously not going to happen. He's parading himself around, trying to get the attention of every guy in this school-"

"Are you listening to yourself right now, Puck? You seriously think Kurt did that routine just to show off his cute little ass for all the straight McKinley guys who have bullied him for years?" Mike scoffed, rolling his eyes at his friend.

Puck glared at him and turned around to look at the crowd of their peers behind them. Mike followed his gaze and noted how the jock may not be wrong after all; many of the guys were looking awkwardly at one another, adjusting their pants, or staring straight at Kurt as he hugged Santana. Even some of their basketball teammates were checking Kurt out, a fact that was clearly making Puck jealous.

"First off, don't call his ass cute, it creeps me out. And second, I'm pretty sure I'm right on this one. He's just a little whore," Noah argued, clenching his fists together as he returned to gaze at Mike angrily.

"Kurt's so not a whore," Mike chuckled, immediately stopping as Puck's harsh glare returned. "I think he's just trying to impress you, man. He wants you back, and you know it."

"I'm not impressed, Chang, so just fucking let it go!" Noah demanded, before stomping off to the locker room.

Mike sighed as he watched Kurt follow Puck. He hoped the smaller boy could work Puck out of this funk. It's obvious that he still cares for Kurt; Mike can just see it in his behavior. Even when he tries to ignore Kurt, Mike sees the "secretive" glances Puck always shoots towards the other boy. He's noted often the way Puck brightens just a bit when Kurt enters the room, despite his anger. Puck just needed to realize that it may have started out as a bet, but Kurt had genuine romantic feelings for the left tackle.

And Mike sure as hell knows that Kurt likes Puck, just as much (and if not more) than the jock likes him. Everyone knew Kurt was a good actor, but not even he could pull off dating Puck (even if it was for just a small amount of time) if the boy had still loathed the jock. At one point, Kurt probably despised his former tormenter, but it was clear to anyone with eyes that their feelings had changed.

He decided something right then and there as he watched Puck stalk out of the locker room, face set in a determined scowl that clearly insinuated he did not make up with Kurt; he was going to get the two of them together again.

Mike rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

Oh yes, Mike Chang was going to play match maker on this one, and he was determined to get those two stubborn fuckers to rekindle their romance.

* * *

Realizing that talking to Puck wasn't any better than talking to a brick wall (and the brick wall was a lot safer since it didn't have the ability to punch his lights out), he decided to start with Kurt first.

"Hey, Kurt!" he called as the boy headed towards the gym doors.

Kurt turned around and raised his eyebrow at him expectantly.

Not anticipating such a cold response, Mike stammered over his next words. "Um, yeah, so how are you after the whole Glee incident?"

"Just fine, thanks for asking. It doesn't make it any less shitty that Noah's already gotten cozy with you, now does it?"

Kurt flipped his short hair over his shoulder (which reminded Mike a lot of Santana's trademark ponytail flip) and sauntered out the exit.

"Kurt, it isn't like that!" Mike exclaimed as he followed the boy through the parking lot.

"Don't give me that bullshit Chang! I'm not blind; I see the way you two have suddenly become attached at the hip, those covert hugs you share when you think no one's looking. And just for your information, we never officially broke up. How does it feel to be a homewrecking rebound?"

Mike figured it probably wasn't a good idea to debate the concept of a homewrecking rebound, because how could he be a homewrecker if the two of them weren't together, and how could he be a rebound if they were still together? Shaking his head at the confusion, he answered Kurt's question.

"We aren't together, Kurt, I swear!" Mike pleaded, shocked at the conversation. Did Kurt really think he was into Puck? That was just… awkward.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, you freakin slut. Back off now while you have the chance, because Hummel's always get what they want, and this time is no different. That boy is mine, Chang."

Mike stared dumbfounded as Kurt strode to his car, started the engine, and peeled out of the parking lot without so much as a backwards glance at him.

Well shit, now what was he going to do?

* * *

Kurt slammed the door to his Navigator in anger. How dare Mike fucking Chang try to talk to him? It was clear that the Asian boy was throwing himself all over Puck now that he and the Jewish boy were temporarily separated.

"I'm sorry, baby," he cooed as he patted his car. "I didn't mean to hurt you;_ he_ just made me momentarily lose my temper."

After fixing himself a snack (apple slices and a bowl of grapes, because there was no way in Gucci he was going to let that tub of ice cream in the freezer go to his ass), he decided now was a good time for a talk with his best friend.

"Sweetie, that performance was fire! Please tell me you're calling with good news about Puck?"

Kurt sighed at Mercedes' hopeful tone.

"I wish, 'Cedes, but he shot me down. And then Mike Chang had the nerve to try and tell me they weren't together."

He explained the whole story to her, from the meaning behind his performance, to the talk with Noah, up until the end when he left the school parking lot after his rather bitchy one-sided conversation with Mike.

"You know I love you baby, no matter what, right?" Mercedes began sweetly.

"I know that, boo, and I love you too," he smiled into the phone. A guy needed a best friend like his.

"Well okay, now that we've got that covered, I think you're an idiot."

Okay, well maybe not.

"Did I miss something?" he pouted.

"I'm fairly certain Mike had the hotts for you not too long ago, and don't you dare tell me I'm wrong, because we all know how that goes. So-"

"But wouldn't he be trying to talk to me and not Noah?"

"Boy, you better not interrupt me again-"

"Okay," he snickered.

"Now listen closely. Mike and Noah are bros. They stick together, and yes there may be an occasional slip up when the bro code is broken, but those two have known each other for years. There is no way on this planet that Mike Chang has a crush on Noah Puckerman."

"But how do you know for sure?" he whined, seriously hoping she was wrong. He didn't feel like apologizing to Mike for acting like a possessive stalkerish girlfriend.

"Call it girl's intuition. Mike may be gay, but Puck isn't his type. And as for you and Puck, it's clear he doesn't want to see your 'bad ass slutty side.' You need to appeal to his intellectual and emotional side. Try finding an activity, besides Glee, that you both like to do together."

Before Kurt had a chance to respond, someone entered his bedroom and pounded down the stairs.

"Your dad wanted me to tell you that we're going to a basketball game and won't be back until late tonight. He said you could come if you want," Finn stated, giving him his usual big, goofy smile. "You should go, it'll be fun."

"Thanks, I appreciate the offer, but I have things to work on," Kurt answered, suddenly smirking.

Plan B was currently a go.

* * *

Kurt waited until Finn pulled out of the driveway and sped down the street towards McKinley High before he entered his Navigator. Quickly sending a text to Santana that he was going to miss Cheerios practice this morning and to please cover for him (of course promising that he owed her big time), he followed Finn's beaten up Honda Accord from a distance.

He watched as Finn ran into the gym before he pulled his car into the parking lot. Kurt tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as he waited for his target to arrive. The Cheerios always practiced in the morning on the football field, so he prayed that none of his teammates would notice his car parked in the lot.

You see, Kurt Hummel was a good friend/future step-brother. He always listened when Finn whined about all the problems the basketball team was having, from the stress of being so close to becoming district champions, to the frustration of always having to run extra laps because a certain team member could never get his ass to practice on time.

And as Kurt inspected a black Toyota Camry that came to a screeching halt next to him, he smiled in relief; everyone in this town was so fucking predictable.

"Morning, Ross," Kurt greeted as he smoothly slid from his plush car seat.

"Oh, hey Kurt," the lanky basketball player mumbled as he rummaged through his car, tossing various items into his gym bag. "I don't have time to chat, I'm late for practice again and Coach already has me doing extra laps after practice as it is."

Ross sat next to him in chemistry, and the two had become acquaintances after Kurt had tutored him several times during lunch before a quiz or test. He proved to be quite smart and picked up on things quickly, only needing help because he spent most of his time texting during class. The blonde boy was easy to like and always made him laugh with his impersonations of their strict teacher. He was the perfect target for his plot to get Noah back.

"So I heard you hurt your knee last night playing a pickup game with your brother," Kurt commented, casually leaning back against his car and completely ignoring what Ross just said.

"Huh?" Ross turned around, only to end up staring open mouthed at the crisp fifty dollar bill Kurt held in front of his face.

"Rumor has it you're going to be out a few weeks," Kurt added, pulling out another fifty dollar bill.

"Oh yeah, um it's sprained, hurts like a bitch ya know?" Ross agreed, nodding his head vigorously, eyes completely focused on the bills in Kurt's hand. "Doctor says I can't play in today's tournament either."

"Such a shame," Kurt added another fifty to the ones already in his hand. "Don't tell anyone about our little arrangement here and this third friend of mine is all yours."

"Sounds good, bro." Kurt cringed at the term, but willed himself to focus on what Ross said next. "Coach is going to run your ass into the ground the next week or so, but you chose this fate!" Ross grabbed the two fifties from Kurt and stuck them into his pocket. "Guess the deal is sealed."

Kurt laughed. "Yeah, thanks, Ross. Here you're going to need these." Kurt handed the other boy a set of crutches Finn brought when he moved in (apparently the quarterback was accident prone) and a knee brace. "It's clean, I promise."

"It smells like strawberries," Ross remarked, sliding the brace over his left knee and taking the crutches from Kurt. "Do you think Coach is gonna want a doctor's note?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Kurt pulled a note out from his backpack. "I used to get sick all the time, so I just ended up scanning the note, and with a little computer skill, adjusted it for any purpose."

"Awesome, I need a reason to get out of gym." Ross paused, taking the time to look Kurt up and down. "You know, you never struck me as the type to want to join the basketball team."

Kurt sighed, figuring he might as well tell the truth. Ross never seemed to care that he was gay, unlike many of the other McKinley students. "I'm trying to get a boy…"

"You and Mike would be a great couple, dude! You should totally go for it; I've seen him checking you out at lunch."

"Oh my gosh, ew, no, I am not into Mike. My taste is way better than that," Kurt explained, shuddering at the thought of him and Mike together. Despite what Mercedes seemed to think, Kurt was completely sure the Other (and inferior) Asian was trying to creep all up on his man, which was something he could not handle.

"Please tell me it's not Finn again, isn't that like incest at this point?" Ross laughed as he pulled his cell phone out.

"No, it's Noah." Kurt rolled his eyes as Ross looked up in confusion. "Puck?"

"Oh yeah, Kurt, you have such awesome taste in men," Ross sarcastically replied, laughing as Kurt glared at him. "Look, I need to go into the gym, the guys are starting to blow up my phone with all their texts bitching me out for being late… again."

Kurt followed behind Ross as he hobbled to the gym door on his new crutches.

"I hope my acting skills impress you, Kurt." Ross winked at him before entering the gym. "Here goes nothing!"

Kurt watched from behind the bleachers as Ross began talking with the basketball coach. Coach Johnson was like a less fierce version of Sue Sylvester (strict and demanding, but with more ethics and less use of a bullhorn), one of the many reasons why the basketball team always won more games than the football team.

He couldn't hear what the two were saying, but the man did NOT look happy. Kurt took a deep breath before walking over to Ross. All of the other players had gathered worriedly around the handicapped boy after he entered the gym, many looking concerned and upset. Kurt tried not to glance over at Noah and Mike standing near the back of the group.

"Coach Johnson, I think I have a solution to your problem. I would like to audition to be on the team."

Several of the guys snickered at his statement, but Kurt kept his gazed focused solely on Coach Johnson.

"Who the hell are you?" Coach Johnson demanded.

"Kurt Hummel, sir." He stuck his hand out for the man to shake."I'm also Finn's future step-brother," he added for good measure.

"Ah, I see. Finn, where you at boy?" Coach Johnson yelled loudly, causing a few of the boys to grimace in pain as they rubbed their ears.

Finn nudged his way past the other players and came to a stop right beside Kurt, giving him a confused look. Kurt smiled reassuringly at the lanky boy, praying Finn would use some common sense and help him out.

"This boy here says you're about to be related. Have you seen him play before?"

"Oh, um…" he looked back to Kurt for help. Kurt tried to discreetly nod his head quickly, hoping no one noticed. "Yeah he's pretty good, Coach."

"Thank you, son." Coach Johnson turned his attention back to Kurt. "And why should I let you _try out_ when I have plenty of boys who have been sitting on the bench all year waiting for their chance to start?"

"I'm a superb three point shooter, a skill which I can see all of your other players lack."

Kurt didn't know this for sure, but Finn had gone on and on to his dad about how amazing Ross was at shooting from long distances, and considering the way Coach Johnson's veins throbbed angrily in his forehead, Kurt was pretty sure his assumption was correct. Because why else would Coach be so stressed if he had a decent substitute to replace Ross?

After hearing Kurt's last statement, the assistant coach jumped up from his seat on the bleachers and approached their group.

The man, whose name Kurt didn't know, was at least a foot shorter than Coach Johnson and reminded Kurt somewhat of a mouse.

"Those Carmel boys seem to swing the other way, maybe this boy here would be a good addition to our team, at least until Ross can play again," the assistant coach whispered to Coach Johnson, clearly trying not to be overheard by the players (which he obviously failed at.)

"What do you mean, Gilbert? They like playing with more than just one kind of ball?" Coach Johnson asked in his regular speaking voice (which translated to very loud.)

Kurt felt himself blushing as the team all laughed uncomfortably. He refused to look over to see how Noah was reacting to his presence.

"Um, well, you could put it that way, but yes I'm pretty sure, right boys?" Gilbert asked, turning to address the team.

Most of the guys nodded.

"Yeah, Coach Johnson, half of Carmel's team hit on us last year after the game. It was kind of awkward," Finn helpfully supplied. "I bet they'll all be in love with Kurt by the end of the game."

Kurt shifted his feet nervously. His attempt to join the team was to show off his basketball skills (which we did have, thank you very much) and not to "parade himself like a piece of meat" in front of the Carmel boys.

Feeling a moment of weakness, he shifted his gaze to look back towards Noah. The muscular boy was glaring at the ground, his jaw clenched in anger.

Ugh, he just couldn't win, now could he?

"Well, alright. Gilbert, set the boy up on the three point line, and let's see what he can do!" Coach Johnson commanded, clapping his hands together. "The rest of you, run some laps you fat asses. My grandma is in better shape than you, and she's been dead for twenty years."

"Coach, you can't seriously let him try out? He's one of those fruity Glee kids. There's no way he's better than me at three point shooting." Kurt glared at the jock who had spoken, a rather short boy with black hair and acne.

Just as Kurt was about to let out one of his infamous bitchy retorts, complete with comments on why he was superior and of course advice to rid his face of those dreadful zits, a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"You got a problem with Glee kids, Hubbard?" Noah shoved his way to the front, standing several feet away from Kurt but face to face with the boy who had just spoken. "Finn, Mike, and I are in Glee and we're the top three scorers on this team. Are you trying to say we're suddenly too fruity to play ball? Maybe we should just quit and see how many championships you can win without us."

"Puck, dude, that's not what I meant," Hubbard stuttered, holding his hands up, "I mean, you three aren't like him."

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?" Noah leered over the boy, causing him to shrink even farther back.

"You're not gay!" Hubbard cried, throwing his hands up in front of his face. "Please don't hit me."

"Look at me when I talk to you, Hubbard," Noah spoke in a low, tense voice, which Kurt hated to admit, but he found it fairly sexy. When the jock didn't move, Noah grabbed the boy's arms, roughly pulling them down so he could stare him in the eye.

"What if I was, Hubbard, what would you do?"

"Nothing, it's your choice, whoever you love is your business!" Hubbard cowered. Kurt heard several of the guys gasp.

"And don't any of you forget it," Noah addressed the rest of the team after letting Hubbard go. "You heard Coach, start running laps you pussies."

Kurt smiled as Noah turned to face him, only to frown at the dark look over the jock's face.

"What the hell are you doing, Kurt?"

"I want to play basketball, I thought that was obvious," he remarked casually, hoping the boy wasn't going to yell at him again.

"Whatever just leave me alone." With that, Noah joined the rest of his teammates as they jogged around the outer edges of the court.

Sighing, Kurt jogged to the three point line and grabbed the ball Gilbert handed him.

"Gilbert, get this boy the tightest uniform we have, boys we have ourselves the fifth starter!" Coach Johnson exclaimed after Kurt made seven shots in a row, all from different areas of the court.

"Do they make uniforms in child sizes?"one of the jocks joked, earning a high five from a rather bulky teammate as they headed to the locker room.

"Kurt, you were amazing!" Finn complimented at the end of practice.

"Thanks, Finn, you were great too."

"Why didn't you tell me you played?" Finn whispered once they were out of ear shot of everyone else.

"I haven't in a while, my dad used to make me play when I was younger so I could be more 'social' and 'one of the guys."

"Well, it's a good thing you did. It's awesome that you decided to join the team right after Ross got hurt, we would be shit out of luck without a three point shooter.

Smiling at Finn's innocence, Kurt headed to class, anxious for his big debut in the Carmel game this afternoon.

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A/N: Sorry for such a long wait, I've been busy! Hopefully the chapters should be up faster from now on.

Review please :)


	15. Chapter 15

Sorry this also took so long! I've had really bad writer's block, but I should finish up pretty soon. Thanks to everyone who stuck around! Reviews always make me write faster :)

This chapter focuses on Noah's reaction to the previous two chapters. The drama will unfold next chapter and may probably be the last (though, if so, it will be way longer than this one)

Enjoy!

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To say Noah was annoyed when he got home from school was the understatement of the year. He knew Mike's intentions for harassing him in the choir room about getting back together with Kurt was because he genuinely thought they were a good match, but it still irked him nonetheless. Kurt had only gotten together with him to win some stupid bet. He didn't see how Kurt would have feelings for someone as lame as himself. Kurt deserved so much better, and even though it hurt to admit it, Noah wasn't the knight in shining armor that Kurt was entitled to.

Caught up in his pity party, he walked right past Quinn in the stairwell on the way to his bedroom.

"Noah, where did you go after Glee?" she asked as she made her way down the rest of the stairs and into the kitchen.

Pausing in the stairwell, he told her he hung out with Mike in the choir room before he came home. He decided to skip over the part about Mike admitting he was gay and instead focused on the little rap and dance combo they did for Berry.

She chuckled quietly from her spot in front of the oven. Not wanting to talk anymore, he made his way up to his bedroom before collapsing onto his bed and burying his face in his pillows.

Before he could begin thinking again of how awful his life was, he heard his door open and then close quietly.

"Go away Quinny," he grumbled into his pillow.

"I made blueberry biscuits, Noah," she calmly replied as she sat on his bed, clearly not fazed by his attitude.

Unable to resist any of her deliciously baked goods (she knew all his weaknesses, damn her preggo senses), he sat up on his bed and faced her for the first time.

"You know, Brittany thinks he really likes you," she mentioned as she handed him a biscuit that was already buttered to perfection, along with a napkin.

"I don't want to talk or even think about it," he mumbled in between bites. "And besides, since when did Brittany ever say anything meaningful?"

"I think you need to, Noah," she started, ignoring his jab at the blonde. "I know it hurts to think this was all a lie, but I talked to Mercedes before you got home."

She paused, placing a comforting hand on his knee as the tanned teen glared at the mentioned of Kurt's best friend. He was so not happy with his "ex" girlfriend.

"She knew you liked Kurt, supposedly your feelings were pretty obvious to anyone who looked. She only started this bet because she knew Kurt would fall for you, too. Mercedes, of course, didn't tell him all this, but she knows her boy just like I know you. She knew he couldn't pass up a bet, and would thus realize his feelings all on his own. If she had told him from the start she knew you two would fall for each other, he would have laughed in her face and vehemently denied it until she gave up."

"Yeah, and what happens if Kurt had never 'fallen' for me," Noah asked, thinking the story sounding like a load of bullshit she spewed to cover her own ass.

"She never considered that an option," Quinn told the boy as she handed him another biscuit. "And if it wasn't for Santana, you two would be happily together and the whole 'bet' would be a non-existent topic."

"Whatever, Quinny, I just need time to think."

"I respect that, Noah, I really do. But I think, in time, you need to have a talk with Kurt. You two could really make each other happy, and I don't want to see you push something good out of your life."

"Fine then, what do you think of the whole situation?" he questioned, knowing her insight was usually on point, and she was just dying to share it .

"I don't think the bet was a good idea, Mercedes definitely could have come up with a better match making plan. But I agree with her. I think he really, truly does like you, and you clearly like him too. You two would be perfect together."

Pictures of the two of them walking hand in hand down the school hallway together suddenly assaulted his thoughts. They had looked fucking amazing together. But he still couldn't get passed the hurt and doubt that this was all part of an even more elaborate plan to bring him down even further. After all, he'd been the epitome of douche to Kurt for years. Well, Karofsky was probably even more of a douche, but whatever. Why would Kurt want him? He had nothing to offer the smarter, richer, more talented boy except his looks and muscles. And what the fuck was Kurt going to do with that when he was already extremely attractive in his own way? Noah wasn't really looking to be anyone's personal slave, but, if it came down to it, maybe he'd make an exception so he could be around Kurt more. He was so god damn pathetic, it hurt.

Noah sat on the gym bleachers waiting impatiently for Ross to arrive for practice. Stupid fucker was going to make them all have to run extra laps again, and considering the fact that he barely slept the night before, he so wasn't looking forward to the extra exercise.

Yesterday after the pep rally, Noah had taken Quinn to yet another doctor's appointment. While sitting next to Quinn, who was focused intensely on the issue of Teen People magazine in front of her (apparently Selena Gomez and that Bieber kid had taken a vacation to Hawaii. Yawn.), Noah's cell phone began to buzz in his pocket. Pulling it out and realizing Mike was calling, he quickly stepped outside into the cool fresh air.

"What up man?" he asked. "Can't really talk, they're about to call Quinn back for an ultra sound."

"That's cool bro, just wanted to let you know I talked to Kurt-"

"Dude, total breaking of bro code right there. You can't talk to my ex, no matter what the circumstance is, at least for a week."

Okay, well he might have made the week part up, but he was still slightly jealous of the fact that Mike had once had a pretty big crush on Kurt. Whatever. Quinn's preggo hormones must be contagious or something. He'd have to ask the doctor about it when Quinny was distracted.

"I was just trying to talk to him to get you guys back together. But get this, he totally thinks we have something going on. He completely told me to back off."

Noah laughed, imagining a red faced Kurt with his hand on his hip and poking Mike in the chest with his pointer finger while delivering a verbal assault.

"…he even called me a 'freakin slut.'"

So Kurt was jealous of Mike and him? This was an interesting development. He had seen Kurt's possessiveness with the cougar at the park, but he thought it had been an act once the bet was revealed. But now what? What was Kurt up to? Kurt probably didn't like anyone touching his possessions, Noah scoffed, as he hung up with Mike and made his way back into the office. He was nothing to Kurt but a prize to be won.

Noah had spent the rest of the day acting like everything was normal, hoping to avoid another "talk" with Quinn. He just didn't know what to say at this point. So, by the time his usual bed time rolled around (he set it himself, thank you very much), his thoughts were all a jumbled mess.

He wanted to get back with Kurt, he really _really _did. But it was so hard to trust Kurt after this "bet" mess. What if he did that routine just to make Noah jealous (which, sadly, completely worked)? He saw red every time he thought of how half the school staring lustfully at HIS boy. What if Kurt was in cahoots with Karofsky to break him down until he was permanently at the bottom of the social ladder so that they could take over McKinley as the gay it couple? He shuddered at the thought of Karofsky running his paws over Kurt's delicate body, but he couldn't get passed all the "what if's" of getting back together with Kurt. He even debated talking to Ms. Pillsbury about it all. He was so beyond pathetic, he was probably in his own realm of Loser.

Noah was shaken from his thoughts by the gym door opening.

Fucking finally!

Looking up from the spot on the gym floor he'd been staring at for the past ten minutes, Noah noticed immediately that Ross had walked in on fucking crutches. Holy shit, their team was so screwed.

Standing next to Mike, the two listened as Ross explained to Coach Johnson about how he sprained his knee in a game with his brother and would be out for three weeks. Before they could even begin to wonder how they would win against Carmel tonight, a small voice spoke up.

"Coach Johnson, I think I have a solution to your problem. I would like to audition to be on the team."

Noah, despite his serious confusion, couldn't help but smile at Kurt's incorrect terminology. He was just too cute sometimes.

Glancing over to Finn, who (as usual) looked confused, Noah concluded that the taller boy obviously didn't know his future step brother was a basketball player either. But at this point, was there anything they truly knew about Kurt? Seriously, at this point, he wouldn't be surprised if Kurt had a secret boner for Rachel Berry.

Wondering why Kurt would join the basketball team so suddenly when he'd never shown interest any interests in sports, Noah easily figured out the answer when Gilbert, the assistant coach, pointed out that half the Carmel boys shared the same sexual preference as the smaller teen.

He couldn't fucking believe that Kurt was going to flaunt himself around to the Carmel boys, especially while Noah was around. Was he already tired of the attention of McKinley boys? Noah would never admit that he stalked Kurt's Facebook page before he went to bed each night, but he had definitely noticed he was suddenly friends with a lot more of their male peers since the Cheerio's dance yesterday.

Needing a "productive" release for his anger, Noah targeted James Hubbard, their annoying back up three point shooter who was running his mouth about Kurt joining the team. He might not be very happy with Kurt at the moment, but he couldn't stand by and let the kid diss gay people. After all, those were his and Mike's "people" too.

After delivering his own version of a verbal assault, which may not have been as witty as Kurt's, but it definitely got the point across, he also decided to ignore the fact that he kind of somewhat came out to his teammates. Or at least, gave them something to wonder about. Apparently, many of his classmates decided that his little one-day relationship with Kurt had all just been a joke, and he was still totally straight.

He directed the team to begin taking their laps around the gym and turned to face Kurt. Tired of being messed with, Noah demanded Kurt leave him alone and tried to not be impressed when Kurt later made seven straight three point attempts in a row.

It looked like Kurt would be sticking around until Ross got better, so Noah decided to do a little of his own scheming. Noah Puckerman was not one to be messed with. He would fight fire with fire, Charizard style.


End file.
